Let’s talk about these chocolatey delights for a moment, before we get to the recipe. I’ve made these cupcakes twice in the past two weeks, as we just simply couldn’t get enough of them! What’s funny is that I came across this recipe…by accident. They weren’t meant to be cupcakes at all. I was browsing Delia Smith’s website looking for something quick to make, for some after-work indulgence, and I came across her ‘Melting Chocolate Pudding’ recipe (can be found here). Long story short, I forgot them in the oven and needless to say that the end result looked nothing like Delia’s. However, they didn’t taste bad at all (if you ignored the burnt edges), so I played around a bit with the recipe until I got the perfect little cupcake. Even after a couple of days in the fridge, they are simply amazing: soft, smooth and packed with flavour!
I did ask myself at one point if these cupcakes could get any better and, once I remembered about Sally’s Nutella frosting, the answer was yes. The creamy frosting makes it even harder to put these cupcakes down.
I love trying out new things, so the second time I made these, I swapped the Nutella for Cadbury’s chocolate spread. As a Nutella lover, I did wonder a few times if I made a mistake, but the second round of cupcakes disappeared just as fast as the last, if not faster!
Heavenly Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 6
You will need…
– 6 silicone cupcake moulds (silicone moulds are amazing, honestly; the cupcakes are so easy to remove!)
– 35 x 27cm. depth 3cm. cupcake/muffin tray
Ingredients – Chocolate cupcakes
– 100g Green & Blacks 70% cocoa dark chocolate
– 100g soft unsalted butter
– 60g caster sugar
– 3 eggs, 1 yolk
– 30g plain flour
– 1 (scraped) tsp cocoa
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
Ingredients – Sally’s Nutella frosting (her amazing blog can be found here)
-115 g soft unsalted butter (at room temp.)
– 120 g icing sugar
– 120 g Nutella (or Cadbury’s chocolate)
– 60 ml double cream
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions – Chocolate cupcakes
- Place the butter (diced) and the chocolate (broken up into small, even pieces) in a heatproof bowl. Fill a saucepan with water and place over low heat until simmering. Place the bowl over the saucepan, being very careful to avoid the bowl touching the water. Let the butter and chocolate melt slowly, stirring occasionally. Once they have melted, turn off the heat and leave the bowl on the side to cool.
- While the chocolate is cooling down, separate the egg yolks from the egg whites, leaving the 4 yolks on the side. With a mixer, beat the egg whites until foamy, then gradually add in the sugar. When the mixture turns light and fluffy, gradually add the egg yolks, one at a time. Add the vanilla extract and continue mixing until you end up with a ‘mousse-like’ mixture, as Delia describes it.
- Pre-heat oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C).
- Add the chocolate to the egg mixture, then carefully sift the flour and cocoa over the top. Using a large metal spoon, fold everything together with slow, gentle movements.
- Once the batter is thoroughly mixed, place the 6 cupcake cases in the tray, then spoon the mixture evenly between them until they are 3/4 full. No need to grease anything with butter, as the silicone cases are non-stick!
- Place in the oven and leave for 14-15 minutes.
- When firm to the touch, remove from the oven and leave to cool while you make the frosting.
Directions – Nutella/Cadbury frosting
1. Dice the butter and place in a medium-sized bowl. Using a mixer, beat until smooth and creamy.
2. Add the sugar and carefully mix together. You might want to have the mixer on a lower speed for this stage or the kitchen (and most definitely yourself) will look like it’s covered in snow 😀
3. Add the chocolate (Nutella, Cadbury or whichever chocolate spread you fancy) and vanilla extract and continue to beat.
4. Finally, beat in the double cream. Now, I have used 60 ml as it made the frosting softer and creamier and it slightly reduced the sweetness. I have halved Sally’s recipe to begin with as the one on her blog made enough for 12-14 cupcakes; following the quantities provided by her, for 6 cupcakes she recommends 30 ml double cream. It’s all about personal preference, really. You choose 🙂
Once the cupcakes have cooled down, decorate with frosting and strawberries. Or raspberries. Or more chocolate.
