RASPBERRY AND CHOCOLATE HI-HAT CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Heat the milk in a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Pour over the cocoa powder in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla and egg into the cocoa mixture. Whisk in the dry ingredients until smooth.
• Place the cones upright so they fit snugly in 2 large loaf pans. Divide the batter evenly among the cones, filling them about halfway. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the tops spring back when pressed lightly, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
• For the frosting: Put the freeze-dried raspberries in a blender or food processor and grind to a fine dust; set aside.
• Combine the sugar, cream of tartar, salt and egg whites in a large metal bowl and whisk until smooth. Place over a pan of simmering water (do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water) and heat, stirring, until the mixture is warm and the sugar is dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Off heat, beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the frosting is cool and forms stiff, glossy peaks, 4 to 6 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.
• Transfer one-third of the frosting to a large piping bag fitted with a 3/4-inch plain tip. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the raspberry powder to the remaining frosting and then put half of that into the piping bag on top of the white frosting. Stir in 2 more tablespoons raspberry powder into the remaining frosting and put into the piping bag.
• Start by piping a spiral of white frosting onto each cupcake. Once you get to the pinker frosting, pipe a second spiral on each cupcake. When you get to the darker pink frosting, pipe a third spiral on each cupcake, ending with a bit of a peak of the dark frosting on top (The frosting on each cupcake should go from white on the bottom to dark pink on the top and look a bit like soft-serve ice cream.) Refrigerate until the frosting is well chilled, about 1 hour.
• For the chocolate dip: Meanwhile, combine the chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between each, until just melted, about 2 minutes. Transfer to medium narrow container (such as a pint-size deli container). Dip the frosting of each cupcake into the melted chocolate, leaving a little of the white frosting visible. Let the excess drip back off, then turn the cone right-side up and let the chocolate set until dry, about 5 minutes.