Cupcake

The cupcakes and chocolate-coated ice cream cones for these hats can be made a day in advance and assembled early on the day of your party. Try to find a good selection of ghoulish treats and candies to fill the cones with. –Annie Rigg

Professor Albus Dumbledore always seemed to have some magic to pull out of his hat. These Halloween cupcakes, which are designed to stash small candies beneath their caps, are a sweetly secret interpretation of that. As to what candies, small ones—lots of them. Gummy worms. Candy corn. Jelly beans (just not in earwax or vomit flavors, please, as Dumbledore once expressed an unequivocal distaste for them). We can’t imagine a more appropriate or terrific tribute to the late teacher.

WIZARDS’ HATS HALLOWEEN CUPCAKES RECIPE

• 1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, either in the microwave on a low setting or in a bowl set over but not touching a pan of barely simmering water (do not let the base of the bowl touch the water). Stir until smooth. Hold an ice cream cone over the bowl of chocolate and pour the melted chocolate over it with a spoon, turning the cone and repeating until the cone is evenly coated, allowing any excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl. Sprinkle with edible silver balls or sprinkles, then stand the hats upright on the prepared baking sheet and let them rest, undisturbed, until set.
• 2. To decorate the cones, er, wizards’ hats, cover the top of each cupcake with a swirl of frosting and strew with sprinkles. Fill the chocolate-coated ice cream cones with candies and stick one on top of each cupcake.