Chocolate Cupcakes

Finally a recipe that is not from the hummingbird bakery cookbook but from another favourite, 'Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery'.  I have not made cupcakes for a long time and decided on these chocolate ones. They are certainly worth the effort of making it and the icing is to die for! It had to be chocolate icing on chocolate cake for me :) I only made 1/2 the recipe which yielded 9 cupcakes and managed to eat most of them myself! 

chocolate mixture 

egg whites

ready to go in the oven 

fresh from the oven 

I tried 2 different piping techniques 

ran out of gold stars! 

Makes 18 cupcakes

115g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) 

85g unsalted butter, at room temperature

175g soft brown sugar

2 large eggs, free range or organic, separated

185g plain flour, sifted

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

pinch of salt

250ml semi-skimmed milk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract

Chocolate buttercream icing 

175g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) 

225g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tablespoon semi-skimmed milk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract

250g icing sugar, sifted 

For the cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 170C.
• Break the chocolate into pieces and melt (In a microwave or in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water).
• Stir occasionally until it has completely melted and is quite smooth. Leave to cool slightly. 
• In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and smooth, which should take 3-5 minutes using an electric hand mixer. 
• In a separate bowl  and with clean beaters, beat the egg yolks for several minutes. 
• Slowly add the egg yolks to the creamed mixture and beat well. 
• Next, add the melted chocolate to the mixture and beat well. 
• Combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a separate bowl. 
• Put the milk in a jug and add the vanilla extract to it.
• Add one-third of the flour to the chocolate mixture and beat well. 
• Pour in one-third of the milk and beat again.
• Repeat these steps until all the flour and milk have been added. 
• In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks start to form. 
• Carefully add the egg whites into the batter, using a metal spoon. 
• Do not beat or you will take all the air out of the mixture. 
• Carefully spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, filling them to about two-thirds full.
• This is a fairly liquid batter, so take care when spooning out.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. 
• Remove from the oven and leave the cakes in their tins for about 10 minutes before carefully placing on a wire rack to cool.
• Once they are completely cool, ice the cupcakes with buttercream icing.

For the icing

• Melt the chocolate until smooth (In a microwave or in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water).
• Leave to cool slightly. 
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, milk, vanilla and icing sugar until smooth - this can take several minutes with an electric hand mixer. 
• Add the melted chocolate and beat again until thick and creamy. 
• If it looks too runny to use when trying to ice cupcakes or cakes, simply keep beating - this will thicken the icing and improve its consistency.