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1
Prepare pudding first. In a small saucepan, add milk, sugar, dark chocolate, cornstarch, and coffee. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat. Mix in vanilla and salt.
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2
Pour pudding into a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. While the pudding is chilling, make the cupcakes.
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3
Preheat oven to 350u00b0F. Line two cupcake pans with liners and set aside.
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4
In a large bowl, sift flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk melted butter, oil, buttermilk, coffee, eggs, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry. Mix until combined.
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5
Divide batter into cupcake pan filling each section 2/3 full. Bake 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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6
To make the Swiss meringue, whisk egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a double boiler over medium-low heat. Continue whisking until sugar completely dissolves, about 3-5 minutes.
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7
Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high for 7-10 minutes, until the meringue has reached firm peaks.
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8
Make the whipped cream by beating cold heavy cream with powdered sugar until the cream reaches stiff peaks.
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9
To assemble the cupcakes, carefully cut out the centers. Reserve centers in a small bowl. Fill each center with a spoonful of the chilled chocolate pudding.
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10
Fill a piping bag with the whipped cream and frost each cupcake. Sprinkle reserved cake crumbs over cupcakes.
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11
Add Swiss meringue in a separate piping bag. Pipe meringue in the shape of a ghost (don't worry if they don't all look the same!). Add 2 mini chocolate chips for eyes.
