Monday, July 30, 2007

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes - The Best Yet?

Back into the kitchen for the domestic goddess pleasures of Sunday afternoon baking.

I've never made a Nigella Lawson recipe before but if the ease and success of this recipe is anything to go by, I may have to go and buy all her cookbooks - like every other woman out there.
Seriously, these were the simplest and most delicious cupcakes I've made yet. A one pot (ie saucepan) wonder. The cupcake is how I've always wanted a cupcake to turn out, moist but not dense with a good crumb and not-too-heavy-not-too-light flavour. And they came out beautifully flat and even which made icing the best.

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes, makes 12
125g unsalted butter
100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
300g morello cherry jam
100g caster sugar (Nigella calls for 150g but I cut back 1/3 and it was plenty sweet)
pinch of salt
2 large eggs, beaten
150g self-raising flour
Icing
100g dark chocolate
100ml double cream
12 natural-coloured glace cherries (I used red glace cherries as I've no idea where to get natural-coloured ones from in Sydney, if you know please let me know, or any cherries with the stem attached).

Preheat the oven to 180C. Put the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan on the heat to melt. When nearly completely melted, stir in the chocolate. Leave for a moment to begin softening, then take the pan off the heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the butter and chocolate are smooth and melted. Now add the cherry jam, sugar, salt and eggs. Stir with a wooden spoon and when all is pretty well amalgamated stir in the flour. Scrape and pour into the muffin papers in their tin and bake for 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before turning out.
When the cupcakes are cool, break the chocolate for the icing into little pieces and add them to the cream in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and then whisk – by hand or electrically – till thick and smooth. Ice the cupcakes, smoothing the tops with the back of a spoon, and stand a cherry in the centre of each.
Note: I added a mint leaf to my cherries.

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4 Comments:

Blogger The Late Bloomer said...

God, Julia, those look gorgeous! I've got to try my hand at cupcake-baking one of these days. I haven't baked in months, though, and I can't exactly say it's because it's been hot! I've been meaning to make lemon shortbread cookies from Clotilde's book for ages, and I just haven't gotten round to it.

Your cupcakes are a true inspiration though! I would love to get my hands on those...

8:49 PM  
Blogger Julia said...

Honey, start with these, because they are so easy you won't quite believe it. They were in the oven in 15 minutes and are so delicious.

9:09 AM  
Blogger la femme said...

Nigella is my goddess.

1:01 PM  
Blogger Paul said...

That picture is amazing.
I'm a makeup artist and I have been lately looking at food for inspiration. Your picture is the perfect example.
Where's the blue eyeshadow? X

9:39 PM  

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