Preheat your oven to 160C Can / 180C and place cupcake cases into your cupcake tin. I sprinkle a little rice into each hole before the case as this helps reduce unwanted moisture.

Cream together your softened butter and sugar using an electric hand whisk. Do so until lighter in colour and fluffier in texture.

Gradually add your eggs (I whisk briefly in between each addition) and mix in.

Sift in your flour, cocoa, baking powder and xanthan gum and then mix with your electric hand whisk until combined.

Spoon your mixture into your cupcake cases and place in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool very briefly in the tin, then move the cases to a cooling rack.

Melt your dark chocolate (I do this is the microwave in 20 seconds bursts), put to one side to cool whilst making the rest of the buttercream.

To make your icing, place your butter in a stand mixer (or electric hand whisk if you don't have a stand mixer), mix on its own on a high speed for about 5 minutes. The butter should change from a more yellow colour to being a lot more pale.

Add your icing sugar gradually to the butter (I do this in two stages). I mix each addition of icing sugar for around 3 minutes before adding the second half.

Sieve in your cocoa powder and then mix again until fully combined.

Add in your cooled melted chocolate and mix until dispersed evenly, the colour is a lovely rich chocolate colour and it's a nice thickness to spread. If it needs to be thinned out, add a drop of milk.

Transfer your chocolate icing into a piping bag with a large star nozzle. Then pipe your buttercream on top.

Push a couple of gluten free pretzels in for the antlers, edible eyes and a red chocolate for the nose.