Milk Chocolate Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Icing

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two 12-cup standard muffin tins with 18 silver foil cupcake liners.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, chocolate milk, oil and eggs. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl to be sure the batter is well incorporated.

In a microwave, melt 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips at 10-second intervals, about 1 minute total. Add 1 cup batter to the melted chocolate and stir well to combine (it may clump slightly but will smooth out). Place into a plastic resealable bag and cut off the corner. Take a small ice cream scoop and fill each cup with 1 scoop (about 1 tablespoon) of cake batter, about one-quarter of the way up the cupcake paper. Pipe about 1 tablespoon batter with melted chocolate in each batter-filled cup. Top each with another scoop (about 1 tablespoon) of the remaining cake batter.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the cakes comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire cooling rack.

To make the icing, heat the cream in a small saucepan over low heat to a simmer. Remove from the heat; stir in the remaining chocolate chips until combined.

While the chocolate icing is still slightly warm, dip the tops of the cupcakes in the icing. Place on a wire cooling rack, sprinkle with dragees or top with a candied flower, if using, and allow the icing to set.