Father's Day Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons Argo® Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2/3 cup corn oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 
  Blue Buttercream Icing
• 1-1/2 cups butter OR margarine, softened
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Karo® Light Corn Syrup
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 9 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup milk
• 4 - 6 drops blue food colouring
• 6 white, yellow, pink sugar sheets
• writing icing, your colour choice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Grease 26 to 28 cup cake tray (2-1/2 inch) or line with paper liners. 

Combine water and cocoa powder in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Stir until smooth and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted.  Set aside to cool. 

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixer bowl.  Add buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla, mix for 1 to 2 minutes on medium speed or until smooth.  Add cooked melted chocolate mixture and continue mixing for 1 minute or until well blended. 

Portion batter evenly into baking cups, filling each approximately two-thirds full.  Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven.  Remove cupcakes from pans and allow to cool completely on wire racks before frosting. 

For frosting: Beat butter, corn syrup, vanilla and salt in a large mixing bowl until light and creamy.  Gradually add powdered sugar and 1/3 cup milk until fluffy, adding additional milk as needed to reach desired spreading consistency, add drops of blue food colouring.  Pipe frosting generously onto cupcakes with a pastry bag and decorative tip.  Using sugar sheet cut into 1 inch strip. To create the collar simply fold in the left and right corners to overlap. To make the tie, cut out a tie shape from the pink and yellow sugar sheets and decorate with dots using writing icing.