Make the cupcakes

Put 10 cupcake cases into the holes of a cupcake baking tin. Preheat the oven to 180℃/ 350℉.

Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, pumpkin spice and salt to a bowl and whisk together.

In a separate bowl, add the Mellow Yellow rapeseed oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree and soured cream, whisk until smooth.

Sieve the dry ingredients into the wet and stir together until no streaks of flour remain.

Divide the mixture between the 10 baking cases (aim for around 65g of batter per cupcake – it should come to around the half way point of the cupcake cases). Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes until well risen and the top bounces back when lightly pressed with a finger. Allow the cakes to cool completely.

Make the buttercream

Use an electric whisk to cream the butter until smooth. Sieve half of the icing sugar into the butter and beat until combined, then beat in the maple syrup, pumpkin spice and salt.

Sieve the remaining icing sugar in and beat until the icing is smooth. Add the cream cheese and beat, on a low speed, until just combined. Do not overbeat as your icing will turn runny.

Put 40g of the buttercream into a small bowl and mix in orange food colouring (for the beaks). Put 40g of buttercream into another bowl, melt 4 of the dark chocolate buttons and stir them into the buttercream (for the eyes).

Time to decorate!

Put the orange, brown and uncoloured buttercreams into three separate piping bags fitted with a small petal nozzle.

Pipe a flat layer of uncoloured icing onto the top of each cupcake.

Decorate with the chocolate buttons: Cut a dark chocolate button in half and press both pieces into the top of the cupcake. Add 2 white chocolate buttons to form the whites of the eyes. Press 6 milk chocolate buttons into the exposed buttercream to form the feathered chest of the owl. Cut another dark chocolate button in half and press both pieces each side of the feathers to form the wings.

Use the brown icing to pipe pupils onto the white chocolate yes. Use the orange buttercream to pip a beak onto the cupcake between the eyes.

Repeat for the remaining cupcakes and enjoy!