If you want to make the cups from scratch they really aren't hard to do at all - and only take about 30 minutes from start to finish. Make them similar to how I showed you I make my
chocolate leaves.The difference is that you use 2 cupcake liners (to make it more sturdy) and you 'paint' the inside of the cup with a thin layer of melted chocolate.
Refrigerate for about 5 minutes to set your chocolate up and then paint another thin later - refrigerate - and repeat. You'll want about 4-5 thin layers to make a nice thick cup - which will make it easier to remove the paper liner later on.
Thin cups break easily. I would only caution you to make at least 2 'extra' cups to allow for breakage. After your final 'chill' you remove the 2nd liner and then carefully start to tear away the cupcake liner from the chocolate from the top down. Continue and then finally, pull it away from the bottom. Try not to touch the chocolate as it will melt quickly if your hands are warm and you will leave fingerprints.
You can make chocolate cups ahead of time and keep them in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the rest of the dessert as well. If you are like me you may be able to carve out 30 minutes here and another 40 minutes there, but never 3 hours all at once!
And if you don't want to make cups from scratch you don't have to! You can buy them! I did a quick search and found Dark Chocolate Dessert Cups, Milk Chocolate Dessert Cups and for the extra fancy desserts? Try Belgian Large Chocolate Cups.
Now you can either make the cupcake or brownie from scratch or use a store bought mix. Make according to directions. When cool, refrigerate them so they are completely cold or they will melt your chocolate! To fit them into the cupake liners you'll need to 'trim' them with a knife so remove the paper from your cupcakes or brownies and trim the bottoms and sides to make them just a hair smaller so they will drop into your chocolate liners without breaking the cups. Don't trim the tops if you can help it as this makes them stay 'pretty' on top. But if you have really thick chocolate cups and you do have to trim the tops as well it won't matter because you can cover it up with the frosting or whipped cream!
Take your 'naked' brownie or cupcake and get busy with the frosting! This is the FUN part!
Using frosting you've tinted orange or a nice thick whipped cream you've tinted, add the toppings to your dessert with a decorating bag and frosting tip to form the swirl. Finish off your creation with holiday sprinkles, jimmies, chocolate curls or mini chocolate chips.
