15 March 2010

#37 : Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberries


"The cream ruined everything!" said my sister. I should have used my sis' recipe instead. I had whipped the cream but it was runny. I didn't know if it was because I didn't whip it long enough or because I kept the cream in the room temperature while I was busy learning to decorate with chocolate. But I didn't think that the cream was too weird or anything. But I gotta admit that my sis' cream recipe was much better. The cupcakes tasted just okay I think. Nothing so special except the chocolate decorations! Yes it was my first time doing chocolate decorating and I loved it! Thanks to my sister who patiently taught me how. I made flowers, names (Billie Joe Armstrong :P), wings and etc. She also taught me how to dip strawberries into the chocolate. She taught me how to melt chocolate properly. I tried to melt Home Brand cooking chocolate and it turned out weird. But when I used the ones I bought in my fave baking supplies store, it worked out! I didn't really know if it was because of the quality of the chocolate or if I did something wrong during the melting process. Despite the runny cream, I was happy just to bake! :)


Ingredients :
- 70g plain chocolate, broken into pieces
- 140g butter
- 140g caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp brandy (I used kirsch)
- 175g self raising flour
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder

Topping :
- 200ml double cream
- 1 tbsp icing sugar
- 1 tbsp brandy (I used kirsch)
- 9 large strawberries

Method :
1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with 9 paper cases.
2. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, set the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water and heat until melted. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
3. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat together until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in the eggs.
4. Stir in the brandy, followed by the melted chocolate, then carefully fold in the flour.
5. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden and springy to the touch.
7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. To decorate, place the cream, sugar and brandy in a bowl and whip together until just stiff.
9. Spoon the cream into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle and pipe a generous swirl of cream on top of each cake, then place a strawberry on top and sprinkle with grated chocolate.

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