Chocolate Cupcakes

This is a recipe from the archives of a previous blog. I hope you enjoy!

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I’m not a huge fan of the scary Halloween treats, but I do love the holiday itself, so I make themed pumpkin sweets (they don’t necessarily have to contain pumpkin) to put on the table for everyone.

I dug through last year’s 365 Muffins & Cupcakes calendar and picked a recipe that originally called for a slightly liquid centre. I baked mine for 5 minutes longer than suggested because I didn’t want the runny effect – this way the insides stayed beautifully moist without anything spilling over. But let’s go step by step.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 200 g dark chocolate

• 250 g butter

• 5 eggs

• 80 g icing sugar

• 80 g self-raising flour

For the frosting:

• 250 g mascarpone

• 60 g dark chocolate

• 1 tsp cocoa powder

• 1 tsp icing sugar

• 1 drop black food colouring

• ready-made food fondant, orange & green/gray/brown

How to make the cupcakes

1. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bain-marie, stirring continuously. Once fully melted, leave the bowl aside to cool slightly.

2. Beat the eggs and icing sugar until well combined. Then add the flour – either self-raising or plain with a raising agent.

3. Gradually fold in the melted chocolate using a silicone spatula (or “cat’s tongue,” as the Italians call it).

4. Divide the mixture between the muffin cases and bake at 160°C for about 20 minutes (or 25 minutes like I did, if you want to avoid a liquid centre). Once baked, leave the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

5. Make the frosting by combining mascarpone, a little melted dark chocolate, cocoa powder, icing sugar, and a drop of black food colouring. You can also enjoy the cupcakes without any frosting or with any creamy frosting of your choice.

6. Shape the pumpkins from ready-made orange fondant: roll a small ball, slightly flatten both ends, use a tool or toothpick to make grooves, poke a hole for the stem, moisten to stick the pieces together, and add a stem in a different colour.

These cupcakes are fun, festive, and perfect for a Halloween table – moist chocolate cakes with cute pumpkin hats that are almost too good to eat… almost.

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NIB & Ember