Football Cupcakes

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside.
   
2. Whisk together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.
   
3. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.
   
4. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.
   
5. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 18-20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed.
   
6. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
   

For the Frosting:

1. Melt the chocolate chips by microwaving for 30 seconds at a time and stirring in between. Don't heat for more than 30 seconds at a time or the chocolate will scorch
   
2. In a large bowl combine the powdered' sugar, butter, the 6 Tbs. milk, the vanilla and salt and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, then reduce the speed to low.
   
3. Reserve about a 1/2 cup of the vanilla frosting at this point to make the laces
   
4. Add the chocolate gradually and beat until combined, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 1 minute more.
   
5. If the frosting is dry, add more milk, 1 tsp. at a time, until it is creamy but still holds peaks.
   

To Decorate:

1. Using a small star tip in a pastry bag, zig-zag the chocolate frosting in a diamond shape on the cooled cupcakes. Then put the reserved vanilla frosting into a bag with a small round tip and pipe on the laces.