Chocolate and Toffee Cupcakes Recipe

Today's recipe is rather unusual, for me at least. It's for a rather grown up version of a cupcake. This is an elegant and sophisticated cupcake and a must-bake for anyone who loves chocolate or caramel toffee.

I've been baking of late and this foray into cupcakes is part of that adventure. If you can bake cakes, then the baking of cupcakes is fairly straightforward. But, with cupcakes, the art comes in the decoration, preparing and arranging the topping.

You do not have to go all 'artistic' on them, of course, but part of the fun of cupcakes is in designing extravagant and maybe just a little over the top decorations for them.

Chocolate and Toffee Cupcakes

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

125g (4 oz) self-raising flour, sifted
25g (1 oz) cocoa powder, sifted
125g (4 oz) caster sugar
125g (4 oz) butter, softened
2 medium eggs
100g (3 1/2 oz) toffee yoghurt

For the Topping:

200g (7 oz) unsalted butter, softened
100g (3 1/2 oz) icing sugar, sifted
100g (3 1/2 oz) dark chocolate, roughly chopped
50g (2 oz) ready-made caramel curls
edible gold glitter, to sprinkle

Method:

Beat together the flour, cocoa powder, caster sugar, butter, eggs and yoghurt for the cupcake batter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer for 1 or 2 minutes, or until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Line a 12-hole muffin tin with silicone or paper cases and fill these evenly with the batter. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180ºC (350ºF, Gas 4) and bake for between 15 and 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes are well risen and a toothpick inserted into the centre emerges cleanly.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool as you prepare the icing (frosting).

For the topping, beat together the softened butter and icing sugar until smooth. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie (double boiler) or in your microwave. Allow to cool slightly then work into the creamed butter and sugar mix. Beat until smooth then spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star-shaped nozzle.

When the cupcakes have cooled, pipe the icing on their tops in a swirl pattern. Decorate with the caramel curls and a light dusting of edible gold glitter. Serve immediately for best effect.

For many more cupcake and fairy cake recipes, why not visit the Celtnet Cupcake and Fairy cake information and recipes page?