Chocolate and Cherry cupcakes

I made a version of this a few years ago and when thinking of ideas to make for the team at my other half work, I came up with these. The blend of chocolate and cherry is a total classic while the addition of a good dollop of stem ginger takes these cupcakes to another level. Relatively simple to make, these are a real showstopper.

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
6 oz self raising flour
6 oz caster sugar
6 oz butter
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs

3 tbsp cocoa powder
3 balls of ginger in syrup

Additions and icing:
Cherry Jam
1oz butter
6 oz icing sugar
2 tbsp ginger syrup
1 tbsp cocoa powder
glace cherries to top

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160 fan. Prepare your cupcake cases in a tray, I use a muffin tray as there's less risk of spillage. Mince the ginger to a thick paste like consistency (I use a food processor) and place to one side. Use the food processor or a bowl and electric whisk (I prefer the electric whisk) to combine the cake ingredients together slowly before adding the ginger in at the end to prevent a sticky ball of mess. The mixture should resemble gently whipped cream in consistency when its done.

Spoon the mixture carefully into the cupcakes cases, I find around a tablespoon and a half is the perfect amount per case. Place in the oven and bake for 15 - 20 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, cut a dip in the centre using a sharp knife or a cupcake corer if you have one. Spoon in around a teaspoon of the cherry jam and pop the cake you cut out back on top. Blend the cocoa powder, icing sugar and butter together and slowly add the ginger syrup until the mixture comes together and resembles a thick cream in texture, you may need a little more or less of the syrup depending on the day. Either spread or pipe the icing onto the cupcakes and top with a glace cherry if you haven't scoffed them all before you use them. Glace cherries are a massive weakness of mine and I usually eat more than ends up in the bakes.

Leave these to set if you can possibly bear it and then scoff as many as possible. When you makes these, please tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife.