Black Forest Cupcakes





After the previous diabetes inducing post, I figured I better take it down a notch on the sweetness Richter scale. And so here you have… Black Forest Cupcakes! Not exactly sin-free but these are incredibly delectable. You only live once so what the heck, right?

 These cupcakes are a combination of soft chocolate cake which is drizzled with cherry syrup (or cherry liquor if you prefer), topped with cherry buttercream and decorated with a single cherry. These cupcakes really do taste like a bite size version of a Black Forest Cake. However if you’re a purist and insist that the frosting should involve some form of cream, then by all means go ahead. The only reason why I chose to use buttercream was due to its durability. I needed these cupcakes to remain in perfect condition for at least 24 hours as they were made for order. Having done some research, it became clear that whipping cream based icing without the addition of a stabilizer wouldn’t last for more than a few hours. *I have included a recipe for both versions of frosting, so it really is your choice!




 
Black Forest Cupcakes

 Adapted from BBC Food

Cupcake Ingredients

 125g butter, softened
160g caster sugar
2 eggs
200g self raising flour
2 tbsp cocoa power
125ml milk
100g dark chocolate, melted

Method
  1. Preheat oven to 170C. Prepare and line a muffin tray.
  2. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, one at a time, until combined.
  3. Sift in flour and cocoa powder and mix until incorporated.
  4. Fold in milk and melted chocolate.
  5. Spoon mixture into liners and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until well risen.
  6. Remove and cool before icing.

Cherry Buttercream Icing Ingredients (Option I)

Tinned cherries, pitted
150g unsalted butter, softened
200g-250g icing sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp corn flour + a little water to make a smooth paste
Chocolate sprinkles

Method
  1. Drain cherries in a sieve, collecting the syrup in a bowl below. 
  2. Pierce each cake numerous times with a skewer and carefully pour about a teaspoon of cherry syrup over each cake.
  3. To make the cherry drizzle, heat remaining syrup with the cornflour paste in a small saucepan until just boiling. Remove from heat and beat to thicken. Set aside.
  4. To make buttercream, beat butter until really soft. Gradually add the icing sugar and cherry syrup.
  5. * The cherry syrup will give the buttercream a light pink/purple tinge. If you prefer a more vibrant colour, add a couple of drops of a food colouring of your choice.
  6. Pipe buttercream onto cupcakes.
  7. Top each cupcake with a cherry and decorate each cupcake with some cherry drizzle and chocolate sprinkles.
Whipping Cream Frosting (Option II)

 Lightly whip 300ml double cream and pipe onto cakes. Decorate as desired.