I made this with marmalade as I didn't have cherry preserves, I also put a splash of orange liqueur in it. They were fantastic!

nicolah

I love this recipe but just a tip to any other newbies out there (this might seem really obvious to some people, sorry!) don't use really high percent cocoa chocolate for the icing because it did NOT work! It looked awful and wouldn't go to a smooth consistency and was too bitter! Any other tips?

emmy_lou

I have made these several times, often in the form of the "storecupboard chocolate cake", but using the cherry conserve instead of marmalade. Must say I always use chocolate with a high cocoa content, 70-85% and I've never yet had a problem. It will seize if you overheat it so make sure you cut it into tiny pieces, as it will meld more quickly with the heated cream and thus reduce the risk of lumpy and grainy chocolate.

Shazomatic

These cupcakes are stunning. We had an arrangement of these, instead of a wedding cake, but we made it with strawberry jam, as we could not find cherry jam. Everybody raved about it & needless to say we did not have a single cupcake left!!! At least my mom saved me one for afterwards!!!! Thanx Nigella

Bokkie

The Marmalade sounds really nice too. I made it with Raspberry jam, it tasted delicious.

evilblue_girl

This is a classic recipe and is fabulous using any jam you have to hand. They look so elegant. Perfect for special occassions as they look georgous on a cake plate, but I tend to make them often for a family sweet treat for afternoon tea.

Charlie1

These are the best ever. I made them muffin size and spread the tops with Nutella. Die die die for. Thank you Nigella.

djsyclopz

Pulling these out of the oven, you can help but feel chuffed - they are perfection in a patty pan! Perfectly shaped, and beautifully shiny. ALMOST too pretty to decorate! Simply fabulous recipe.

Coby

I used Waitrose organic morello cherry conserve and I loved the sour note it gave the cupcakes - I get the feeling they may have been a little too sweet otherwise. No idea how I managed it, but I got 21 (yes twenty one) cupcakes from the mix. I used cupcake cases, not the much bigger muffin cases and the mix seemed never ending! They were so easy to make and thankfully last well too - ours weren't finished until a little over a week later and were still as moist and delicious as they had been a week before!

CucinaItaliana

Lovely recipe, nice and easy to make and delicious results. I used organic light brown self-raising flour and they were still light and moist. No need to ice if you want to keep them dairy-free. Will definitely be trying these again and also try the choc/orange combination using marmalade as recommended above.

misslili

I made these with puree cooking apples instead of the jam and they were not as sweet but very moist and yummmy

thaitakeaway

I made these cakes in foil muffin cases and topped them with the chocolate fudge icing (piped) and edible glitter. Then piled them onto a tiered perspex stand for my friends 40th! I have never received so many compliments!

Sally66

Just tried this & tastes great ~ just wonder if it is that moist?

kathycat

I made these with sweet raspberry jam and they were absolutely the best thing I've ever eaten. I couldn't believe how good they were. Definitely will cook them again and again and again ....

marionh_au