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1
Make cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350F.
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Line 28 cups of standard muffin tins and 1 cup of a jumbo muffin tin with paper liners.
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Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
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With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy.
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Add brown sugar, and beat until fluffy.
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Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
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Mix in sour cream.
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Reduce speed to low.
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Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and mixing until just combined after each.
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Divide batter evenly among prepared cups, filling each three-quarters full.
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Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops are firm to the touch and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
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Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
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13
Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
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Decorate cupcakes: Tint fondant with green gel-paste food color (see page 299 for instructions), and roll out to 1/8 inch thick on a work surface lightly dusted with cornstarch.
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15
Using cookie cutters, cut out one 4 1/2-inch round and twelve 3 3/4-inch rounds.
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Divide 2 cups buttercream into two bowls; tint half yellow and half pale blue with gel-paste food colors.
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Transfer to pastry bags fitted with small plain tips (#3).
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Tint 1/4 cup buttercream red; transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a fine plain tip (#1).
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Spread cupcakes with a thin layer of plain buttercream, and transfer remaining untinted buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with another small plain tip (#2).
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Place a fondant round on top of each cupcake, pressing gently to adhere, and mold to fit smoothly.
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21
To make the head, pipe two yellow dots for the eyes on top of jumbo cupcake, then pipe tiny white dots for pupils.
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Using a skewer or toothpick, poke two holes above eyes, and insert mini candy canes into holes for antennae.
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Use red buttercream to pipe the mouth.
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Pipe dots all over other half of cupcake, alternating between yellow and pale blue uttercreams.
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Continue to pipe yellow and blue dots all over remaining cupcakes, then pipe tiny white dots on top of each.
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Refrigerate 30 minutes to allow frosting to set.
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Cupcakes can be stored up to 1 day at room temperature in airtight containers.
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28
Arrange 12 standard cupcakes side by side in a curving line, with the jumbo cupcake at the front.
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29
Serve remaining cupcakes as desired.
