Instructions

1. For the cupcakes, preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C fan assisted / gas 4. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper cupcake liners.
2. Sieve together the flour, cocoa powder and raising agents in a large bowl. Whisk in caster sugar and salt. In a medium sized jug, whisk together the wet ingredients except for the boiling water.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a whisk or electric mixer until mixture is smooth. Slowly add the boiling water and mix until well combined. The batter will be very liquid.
4. Divide batter evenly between cupcake liners and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Leave to cool on wire rack for about 10 minutes in the muffin tin, then remove cupcakes from tin and leave to cool completely before decorating.
5. For the buttercream frosting, beat butter in a medium sized bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and start mixing on lowest speed until dry ingredients are mostly mixed in.
6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then mix on medium to medium high speed until frosting is smooth. To decorate the cupcakes, place chocolate biscuit crumbs in a bowl large enough to dip into with a cupcake. Use a blunt knife or small spatula to spread buttercream icing on top of a cupcake, then dip into the crushed cookie crumbs to coat the frosting in “dirt”. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
7. Trim the heads and tails from the gummy sweets and stick these into the frosting like worms diving into or poking out of dirt. Stick the two ends of the longer pieces into the dirt so that they’re looping in and out of the frosting. Tip: The naturally bent gummies make the best diving worms!
8. Enjoy!
9. Cupcakes will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container at room temperature.