RECIPE: Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

Moist chocolate cake topped with rich chocolate buttercream and a sprinkling of pink-tinted white chocolate curls - these cupcakes are a chocoholic's dream!

This is one of my favourite chocolate fudge cake recipes, slightly adapted from a Maisie Fantaisie recipe - if you like a hint of coffee in your fudge cake you might like to try the recipe in her book Sweet and Simple Party Cakes. They're great for when you want an indulgent treat or need to make a batch of cupcakes for a grown up birthday party. Or how about eating them warm from the oven with ice cream for Sunday lunch dessert today?

Ingredients

• 280g butter
• 120g good quality milk chocolate
• 130g good quality dark chocolate
• 95ml water
• 75g self raising flour
• 75g plain flour
• 30g cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 300g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 5 tsp sunflower oil
• 75ml sour cream
• 270g icing sugar
• 1 dsp milk
• 100g white chocolate
• Pink gel or paste food colouring

To make the cupcakes

1) Heat the oven to 170C / 150C fan / gas mark 3 and line a 12 hole muffin tray with cupcake cases.

2) Melt 130g butter, 60g of milk chocolate, 70g dark chocolate and the water together in a pan on low heat.

3) Sieve the flours, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl and stir in the sugar.

4) In a smaller bowl beat the eggs together with the sunflower oil and sour cream.

5) Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir in with a hand whisk.

6) Pour in the cooled chocolate mixture and stir in with a hand whisk.

7) Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until a skewer inserted into the cupcakes comes out clean.

8) Cool on a cooling rack.

To make the buttercream

1) Melt the remaining 60 of milk chocolate and 60g of dark chocolate together and leave to cool a little.

2) Beat the remaining 150g butter in a large bowl.

3) Add the icing sugar and milk and whisk until fluffy.

4) Whisk in the melted chocolate.

5) Fill a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle with the buttercream and pipe a swirl on top of each cupcake.

To make the pink chocolate curls

1) Melt the white chocolate.

2) Add pink food colouring to turn the chocolate pink, mixing well.

3) Pour the chocolate into a clean small container to allow it to set into a thin block - a margarine tub would work.

4) Leave the chocolate to set - putting it in the fridge will speed up the process.

5) Use a sharp knife or vegetable peeler to make chocolate curls by scraping the knife or peeler across the flat surface of the chocolate. It helps if the chocolate is very slightly warm (but not so warm that it melts in your hands!) rather than cold from the fridge.

6) Sprinkle the curls over the cupcakes, place the cakes on a decorative plate or stand and serve!