Preheat the oven to 160°C (140°C for a fan-assisted oven). Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases.
In a large saucepan, gently melt the butter, chocolate, sugar, and 100ml of hot water, stirring occasionally.
Allow the mixture to cool slightly as you measure out the remaining ingredients.
Mix the eggs and vanilla into the chocolate blend.
Place the flour in a spacious mixing bowl and blend it with the chocolate mixture until you achieve a smooth consistency.
Spoon the mixture into the paper cases, filling them to three quarters full.
Bake on a lower shelf for 20 minutes. Allow them to cool afterwards.
For the icing, begin by melting the chocolate in a heat proof bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water.
Once it’s melted, turn off the heat, add the double cream, sift in the icing sugar, and thoroughly combine everything. Once the mixture is of a spreadable consistency, use it to frost each cupcake.
Place a milk chocolate button on top of each cup cake, followed by two white chocolate buttons positioned just above it.
Use a small amount of icing as adhesive to attach a red smartie as the nose on the milk chocolate button.
Utilise your icing pens (or lolly or chocolate) to create black dots on the white buttons for the eyes.
Insert two pretzel top halves into the top of each cupcake to serve as antlers and secure the bottom half of a pretzel under the smartie to create a mouth.
