Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Ice Frosting
Good morning! Today I have for you another Christmas recipe, or, you might say, a winter recipe. But 'tis the season for foodie indulgence and this one will certainly be gracing my buffet table on Boxing Day.On Sunday afternoon I donned my new Christmas apron, popped on Classic FM and proceeded to make a right old mess in our now fairy light-clad kitchen. Alas, it was good, Christmas mess, so all is well!
What I have yet to tell you is that this is the trial run of my fab new camera. I'm head over heels with it so far and am looking forward to many more shoots! I'm trying my best to keep the icing sugar away from this one though, so no 'during' shots I'm afraid!
A quick note... The number of cakes this recipe makes does depend on the size cases you use. I tend to use muffin size cases as I prefer their overall look, but just bare in mind a quantity increase if you use bun cases!
Chocolate Cupcakes
with Peppermint Ice Frosting
Makes 10-12 cakes
Prep 20 mins
Cook 20-25 mins
For the frosting:
To apply the food colour, I dipped the end of a cocktail stick in the pot and rubbed it on the frosting mixture, then blended once again with the whisk. Use as much colouring as you like for how dark you want the frosting. To achieve my pastel shade, I only needed a tiny dab.
Spoon the frosting into a piping bag and roll the top over to create a lock. I prop up my piping bag in a jug to make filling easier, as it usually requires more than two hands if you want to keep a frosting-free kitchen!
Now pipe your buttercream swirl using my two-point method: Pipe one circle starting from the centre of the cake then 'cast off.' (Stop piping). Pipe a second swirl on top of this and bring to a point in the centre, pushing down into the frosting slightly, then pulling away gently, to cast off once more.
Lastly, spray each cake's frosting with a hint of the silver shimmer spray, then sprinkle your decorations over the top, finishing each cake off with a silver ball on the tip.
The combination of chocolate and peppermint in these works beautifully as an after-dinner treat and they're quite light too. Perfect for entertaining over the festive season when tummies are full!
I hope you're all having a good week! You may have seen on Twitter that I'm getting a wee bit excited about the 1st of December approaching... Which is the day we will be doing our decorations. We've already moved the lounge about to welcome the tree, all I need now is a car that one will fit in...
Have a fab day, folks!
with Peppermint Ice Frosting
Makes 10-12 cakes
Prep 20 mins
Cook 20-25 mins
What you will need:
For the cakes:
6 oz caster sugar
6 oz caster sugar
6 oz margarine
3 medium free-range eggs
6 oz self-raising flour
2 heaped tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the buttercream frosting:
8 oz icing sugar
6 oz unsalted butter, softened
dash Wilton BLUE icing colour
1 tsp peppermint extract
2-3 tbsp water
Edible embellishments of your choice, I used: Silver stardust, Pearly 100's & 1000's, and Silver Balls, from Waitrose
Sparkle Snowflakes, from Sainsburys
Silver Shimmer Spray from Dr Oetker
What to do:
Spoon into your muffin cases, about a third from the top, and place in the middle of a pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Once out of the oven, transfer the cakes onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
3 medium free-range eggs
6 oz self-raising flour
2 heaped tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the buttercream frosting:
8 oz icing sugar
6 oz unsalted butter, softened
dash Wilton BLUE icing colour
1 tsp peppermint extract
2-3 tbsp water
Edible embellishments of your choice, I used: Silver stardust, Pearly 100's & 1000's, and Silver Balls, from Waitrose
Sparkle Snowflakes, from Sainsburys
Silver Shimmer Spray from Dr Oetker
What to do:
For the cakes:
Start by pre-heating your oven to 160°C (325° F, Gas Mark 3) and line a 12 hole muffin tray with muffin cases.
Cream the sugar and butter together with an electric whisk or wooden spoon until combined and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Then, with the electric whisk set on low, carefully pour the eggs into the sugar and butter, a bit at a time, ensuring each dash is well mixed in before adding more egg. Add in the vanilla extract and mix one last time to combine.
Next, sift in the flour and cocoa powder in stages, gently folding into the mixture as you go, using a wooden spoon or spatula.
Spoon into your muffin cases, about a third from the top, and place in the middle of a pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Once out of the oven, transfer the cakes onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
For the frosting:
Combine the icing sugar, softened butter, water and peppermint extract in a food processor or with an electric whisk. (With a whisk the icing sugar may make a bit of a mess but it still works).
To apply the food colour, I dipped the end of a cocktail stick in the pot and rubbed it on the frosting mixture, then blended once again with the whisk. Use as much colouring as you like for how dark you want the frosting. To achieve my pastel shade, I only needed a tiny dab.
Spoon the frosting into a piping bag and roll the top over to create a lock. I prop up my piping bag in a jug to make filling easier, as it usually requires more than two hands if you want to keep a frosting-free kitchen!
Now pipe your buttercream swirl using my two-point method: Pipe one circle starting from the centre of the cake then 'cast off.' (Stop piping). Pipe a second swirl on top of this and bring to a point in the centre, pushing down into the frosting slightly, then pulling away gently, to cast off once more.
Lastly, spray each cake's frosting with a hint of the silver shimmer spray, then sprinkle your decorations over the top, finishing each cake off with a silver ball on the tip.
The combination of chocolate and peppermint in these works beautifully as an after-dinner treat and they're quite light too. Perfect for entertaining over the festive season when tummies are full!
I hope you're all having a good week! You may have seen on Twitter that I'm getting a wee bit excited about the 1st of December approaching... Which is the day we will be doing our decorations. We've already moved the lounge about to welcome the tree, all I need now is a car that one will fit in...
Have a fab day, folks!
2 comments
These cupcakes are so beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing on Inspire Me Wednesday. Featuring you in next week's issue.
ReplyDeleteMel, thank you so much for your kind words! I'll be honoured to be featured, thank you! :)
DeleteThank you for stopping by!