Simple Chocolate Cupcakes

You simply cannot go wrong with a recipe like this one!

Ingredients:
110g butter, softened
110g caster sugar
2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
85g self-raising flour
25g cocoa powder
1-2 tbsp milk

For the buttercream icing;
140g butter, softened
280g/10oz icing sugar
Cocoa powder
Milk chocolate stars to decorate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale. Beat in the eggs a little at a time and stir in the vanilla extract.
3. Fold in the flour and cocoa using a large metal spoon, adding a little milk until the mixture is of a dropping consistency.

4. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until they are half full.

5. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and a skewer inserted into one of the cakes comes out clean. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
6. For the buttercream icing, beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add half the icing sugar and beat until smooth.
7. Add in the cocoa powder. 

8. Add the remaining icing sugar, and mix until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

9. Pipe the icing onto the cakes, starting in the middle and rotate the cake slowly as the icing constantly pipes out. 

11. Decorate the tops of the cakes with the milk chocolate stars, or other decorations if you wish.
12. Indulge and enjoy!

Halloween Cupcakes

Using a simple cupcake recipe, the decorations can be added on top for the real spooky effect. For these cupcakes I used a chocolate cupcake recipe.

Cupcake #1 - Ghosts
Ingredients:
 Chocolate Cupcakes
 White fondant icing
 Large marshmallows
 Black writing icing

Method:
1. On top of the cupcake, place a it of black writing icing in the centre and attach one marshmallow.
2. Roll out the white fondant icing and cut into a circle shape (big enough to cover the marhmallow).
3. Place on top of the marshmallow and manipulate so it falls as desired. 4. Decorate the icing with a scary ghost face!


Cupcake #2 - Pumpkin 
Ingredients:
Cupcake
Icing sugar
Orange food colouring (or red and yellow and combine)
Black writing icing

Method:
1. Create the icing with icing sugar and a small amount of water. Dye the icing sugar orange with food colouring.
2. Place on the cake and when dry (or in the process of drying) add a scary pumpkin face.


Cupcake #3 - Cobweb complete with Spider
Ingredients:
Cupcake
White writing icing
Black writing icing

Method:
1. With the white writing icing, create a cobweb across the entire cake.
2. Add a spider with the black icing for extra decoration.


Have a great Halloween!

Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes

Who doesn't love oreos?!

Ingredients:
110g Butter
110g Caster Sugar
60g Self raising flour
50g Cocoa powder
2 Eggs
Chocolate Buttercream
Oreo Minis

Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees or gas mark 4 and line a cupcake baking tray with cases.
2. Mix the caster sugar and butter in a bowl, then add the flour and cocoa powder and eggs and blend until fully mixed.
3. Fill the cupcake cases and bake for 20 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
4. Take out of the oven and wait to cool.
5. Decorate the cupcakes with chocolate buttercream and a mini oreo on top. The buttercream could also have crushed oreo in it.

Nigella Lawson Chocolate Orange Cake

This recipe was meant to have an orange glaze on top, however I improvised with chocolate buttercream icing and decorated the top with Terry's Chocolate Orange. The cake recipe is very easy to do and worth the wait.

Ingredients:
1 large orange or 2 small, weighing approximately 375g
6 eggs
1 heaped teaspoon of baking powder
½ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
200g of ground almonds
250g of caster sugar
50g of good quality cocoa
Decoration; Chocolate Buttercream Icing and Terry's Chocolate Orange

Method:
1. Put the oranges whole and unpeeled in a saucepan with cold water and bring to the boil before reducing the heat and simmering for 2 hours, or until soft. Drain the water and set aside to cool. When cool, cut the oranges in half and remove any large pips.
2. Grease a 20cm springform pan and preheat the oven to 180 Celsius (350 Fahrenheit, or gas mark 4).
3. Pulp the orange in a food processor before adding the eggs, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, almonds, sugar and cocoa and processing until you have a smooth batter, but still flecked with orange.
4. Pour the batter into the springform pan and bake for 1 hour. Check the cake after 45 minutes as you may need to cover it with foil to prevent burning before the cake is cooked through.
5. Let the cake cool in the tin before removing and decorating.

6. Decorate the cake with the chocolate butterceam icing and the chocolate orange on top (aim for one orange segment per slice of cake). The cake can also be decorated with other things.

Mini Malteser Cupcakes

These are the same as the Rolo cupcakes I wrote about!

Ingredients:
50g Butter
50g Caster sugar
30g 70% dark cocoa powder
25g Sel-raising flour
1 egg
For the icing and decoration;
50g Icing sugar
30g butter
Chocolate Maltesers

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/ gas 4.
2. Using an electric hand whisk, mix the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.
3. Add the egg and beat the mixture.
4. Sift in the cocoa powder and flour and gently fold in until combined.
5. Pour the cake mix into the mini cupcake cases.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until risen; a knife should come out of the cakes clean when inserted. Leave out to cool.
7. To make the icing; cream the butter and icing sugar together. More icing sugar may need to be added.
8. Pipe onto the cakes.

9. Crush some Maltesers and sprinkle on top of the cakes. Then add a whole Malteser on top for decoration. 

Mini Rolo Cupcakes

These are simple to make and can be transformed into normal sized cupcakes, but for this recipe I made enough for approximately 18 miniature cupcakes.

Ingredients:
50g Butter
 50g Caster sugar
 30g 70% dark cocoa powder
 25g Sel-raising flour
 1 egg
 For the icing and decoration;
50g Icing sugar
30g butter
Chocolate Rolos

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/ gas 4.
2. Using an electric hand whisk, mix the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.
3. Add the egg and beat the mixture.
4. Sift in the cocoa powder and flour and gently fold in until combined.
5. Pour the cake mix into the mini cupcake cases.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until risen; a knife should come out of the cakes clean when inserted. Leave out to cool.

7. To make the icing; cream the butter and icing sugar together. More icing sugar may need to be added. 

8. Pipe onto the cakes and place a Rolo on top for decoration. 

Chocolate Crispie Cakes

With silica moulds, different shapes can be made. I made heart-shaped crispie cakes. These are also the quickest and simplest snacks to make with no baking required!

Ingredients:
100g chocolate (white, milk or dark, whatever the preference)
A box of Rice Crispies or other similar brand

Method
1. Melt the chocolate in a microwave, or in a bowl over a pan of very hot water. It is quicker if the chocolate is broken into chunks.
2. Once melted, pour in a large quantity of the cereal and mix until fully coated. More can be added if there is too much chocolate still.
3. Either place amounts of the mixture into cupcake cases or the silica moulds, and place in the fridge for the chocolate to set.

Nigella Lawson Brownies

From the age of 16, I was known as the 'Brownie Girl' at school because I made the best chocolate brownies. All I did was follow Nigella Lawson's amazing recipe which I will share here. Years on, I still haven't found anything better.

Ingredients:

375 g soft unsalted butter

375 g dark chocolate

6 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

500 g caster sugar

225 g plain flour

1 teaspoon salt

300 g chopped walnuts (or other)

Method

1.       Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2.       Line your approximately 33 x 23 x 5 1/2cm roasting dish with foil or baking paper.

3.       Melt the butter and chocolate together in a large glass bowl over a pan of very warm water on the hob.

4.       In a bowl beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla until it is all blended.

5.       Measure the flour into another bowl and add the salt.

6.       When the chocolate mixture has melted, let it cool a bit before beating in the eggs and sugar mixture, and then the nuts and flour. The nuts can also be replaced with white chocolate buttons, bits of caramel or other additions.

7.       Beat to combine and then scrape out of the saucepan into the lined brownie pan.

8.       Bake for about 25 minutes.

9.       When its’s ready, the top should be dried to a paler brown speckle, but the middle still dark and dense and gooey.

10.   Keep checking the brownies as they cook; remember that they will continue to cook as they cool.

11.   The brownies can be presented afterwards with icing sugar sieved on top.

Recipe altered from: http://www.food.com/recipe/nigella-lawson-brownies-32053