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HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESS

HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESS

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CHOCOLATE CHERRY CUPCAKES

The jam I use for these is the morello cherry preserve from Sainsbury's special selection; if you're using a less elegant, and probably sweeter confection, reduce the sugar in the cake a little. And if you have any Kirsch about the place, then add a splash to the batter and icing.

Ingredients

  • Nigella Recipe
  • Vegetarian

FOR THE CUPCAKES:

  • 125g soft unsalted butter
  • 100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 300g morello cherry jam
  • 150g caster sugar pinch of salt
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 150g self-raising flour
  • 12-bun muffin tin and papers

FOR THE ICING:

  • 100g dark chocolate
  • 100ml double cream
  • 12 natural-coloured glace cherries

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4.
  2. Put the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan on the heat to melt. When nearly completely melted, stir in the chocolate. Leave for a moment to begin softening, then take the pan off the heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the butter and chocolate are smooth and melted. Now add the cherry jam, sugar, salt and eggs. Stir with a wooden spoon and when all is pretty well amalgamated stir in the flour.
  3. Scrape and pour into the muffin papers in their tin and bake for 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before turning out.
  4. When the cupcakes are cool, break the chocolate for the icing into little pieces and add them to the cream in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and then whisk - by hand or electrically - till thick and smooth. Ice the cupcakes, smoothing the tops with the back of a spoon, and stand a cherry in the centre of each.

Comments

  • These cupcakes are simply divine and I liked them so much that I came up with two variations. 1. Chocolate Orange Cupcakes, which substitutes the cherry jam and the cherry garnish for good orange marmalade and candied orange peel. White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes, which uses 90g of white chocolate, 150g of good raspberry jam and 150g frozen raspberries, and then top the cupcakes with melted white chocolate - absolutely fantastic and well worth the effort.

    Posted by ThenThereWasCake on 26th Jul 2011 at 4.30