Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Dont add the baking soda yet. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla together until completely smooth. Ad the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Gently whisk until combined.
Add the food gel followed by the vinegar and baking soda. Stir until combined. Your batter should now be a deep black colour. The batter will be thin.
Pour or spoon the batter into the liners. Fill only halfway to avoid spilling over the sides.. Bake for 18-21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
BUTTERCREAM
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter on medium speed until creamy and light in colour, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle, then add the icing sugar, cocoa powder, milk, and vanilla extract. Turn the mixer to low until all ingredients start to come together.
Add the black food colour gel, increase the speed to medium and beat for two full minutes. The colour will resemble wet concrete at first, but will darken as time goes on.
To darken further Scoop ½ cup of the finished buttercream into a microwavable bowl. Then microwave the frosting for 5-10 seconds. The frosting should be runny but deeper in colour. Mix this back into the full bowl of frosting and you should achieve a deep black colour. Let your frosting sit for about 30 minutes before you use it to allow it to thicken back up.
As the buttercream sits it usually gets tons of tiny air bubbles in it! Don’t worry, you’ll be able to make your buttercream smooth again. All you need to do is give the frosting a really good stir with a rubber spatula. Focus on spreading it across the sides of your bowl for a few minutes. It’s definitely an arm workout. But after working the frosting around the bowl and pushing out the excess air, you’ll be left with silky smooth frosting.
Frost your cupcake using a piping bag and piping tip of your choice. Sprinkle the tops with halloween sprinkles.
Recipe by at https://laurasglutenfreekitchen.com/2023/09/gluten-free-black-magic-cupcakes/