Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• Cranberry Curd (see recipe below)
• Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting (See recipe below)
• Fresh Cranberries (for garnish)
• 1/4 cup of sugar (for garnish)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan.
2. Sift cocoa, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar into bowl. Beat in oil, buttermilk, vanilla, eggs, and hot water one at a time, using a mixer set at low. Beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. The batter will be quite liquid.
3. Pour batter into cupcake pans. Bake 25 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.
4. Let cupcakes cool in pans on wire racks, 20 minutes, before removing. Cool completely on racks.
5. Once cupcakes are completely cool, cut out a cone shape into each cupcake from the top with a paring knife. Fill generously with cranberry curd.
6. Fill frosting into a piping bag with large frosting tip of your choice. Frost each cupcake, starting from the outside in and finishing off by pulling the frosting up into a tip.
7. Roll your fresh cranberries in sugar and top each cupcake with a sugar-coated cranberry.

Ingredients

• 1 tub of mascarpone
• 1/5 cup of unsweetened cocoa
• 1 cup of powdered sugar
• 2.5 cups of whipping cream

Instructions

1. Combine mascarpone, cocoa and sugar with a mixer until smooth and creamy. Add whipping cream and whip at medium-high speed until the cream turns to a whipped cream consistency. Don't over-whip the mixture.

Ingredients

• 5 cups fresh or thawed cranberries - keep enough aside for garnish
• 1/2 cup water
• 2/3 cup orange juice
• 8 large egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/4 stick), cold, cut into pieces

Instructions

1. Place cranberries, water, and orange juice in a saucepan, cover, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cranberries burst, about 30 minutes. Press through a fine sieve, scraping back of sieve to get all the pulp (you should have about 2 cups), and discard solids.
2. Combine yolks, cranberry pulp, and sugar in a heavy-bottom saucepan; whisk to combine. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (be sure to scrape the sides of the pan), until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, 8 to 10 minutes, and registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
3. Remove saucepan from heat. Add salt and butter, one piece at a time, stirring until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled and set, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Notes

Ingredients

• 3 large egg whites, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Large pinch of salt
• 2 squares of chocolate

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Combine egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl. Set bowl over a pot of simmering water, and stir until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm, about 3 minutes. Add salt
2. Beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form and meringue is mostly cooled, about 7 minutes.
3. Fill a a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip with meringue and pipe ghost shapes (rounded A's) onto parchment lined cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. As you finish piping each shape, apply less pressure to pastry bag, and swirl the tip off in a circular motion.
4. Bake meringues until crisp on the outside but still soft inside, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
5. In a shallow bowl melt chocolate in microwave in 10 second intervals. Once meringue ghosts are completely cool, dip a toothpick into the chocolate and dab two round eyes on each ghost. Let chocolate harden. Gently insert toothpicks into the bottom of each ghost and add to cupcake of choice.