Guess what I did last Sunday?
If you guessed something along the lines of making cupcakes you are awesomely good at guessing games!
Okay so maybe the title and the picture gave it away a little...
So yes, me and my bestie (I hate that word, but BFF is way worse!) decided we should get to making cupcakes someday soon. We were dying to make some so Sunday was the perfect day!
I will show you pretty much what we did in pictures and explain a few things along the way.
I will show you pretty much what we did in pictures and explain a few things along the way.
So at the end of this post you too should be able to make Chocolate-Cherry cupcakes ♥
First up is all the stuff you need to make them. I tried my best with translating them from Dutch.
For 12 cupcakes you will need:
- 125 grams butter
- 150 grams self-rising flour (is that it?!)
- 150 grams brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- a pinch of salt
- 100 grams dark chocolate (in pieces)
- 300 grams cherry jam
And for the topping you need:
- 100 grams dark chocolate (in pieces)
- 200 ml whipping cream (the liquid form)
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 12 cherries (for example Amarena ones)
- 2 table spoons of cherry juice (from the Amarena cherries)
First of all you weigh everything exactly. It might be best to put it all in separate containers.
Melt the butter
Throw in the chocolate and let it melt. Keep stirring until it's a smooth consistency
Now it's time to throw in the cherry jam, brown sugar and the lightly beaten eggs. Keep stirring through the process, it needs to stay slightly smooth. Yes, the jam does make it a little lumpy. And do not taste after you've thrown in the egg!!
Then you put in the self-rising flour and stir that through completely. No flour should be visible through the chocolatey goodness.
Here's what it should look like when it's all done. All good so far? Nothing you can't handle right?
Now you take 12 cupcake thingies. We used silicone ones but of course you can use paper ones as well. Those are especially useful when you will be giving the cupcakes away. You take two (table) spoons and just fill the cups with the chocolate goo you just created. Try not to spill too much, this will burn in the oven and leave a nasty smell. My friend had trouble getting this done, but to me it was quite easy. Just be careful not to take too much on the spoons.
The original recipe said to full the cups up to 2/3 but almost full works just as well. When we were done we still had enough left to fill one more cup. Just don't fill them all the way up because the cupcakes will rise and it might be difficult to put the topping on it that way.
Stick 'em in the oven for 20 minutes on 170 degrees. After 20 minutes you check on them, to see if they are done. You do this by sticking a wooden skewer or a toothpick (not used of course!) into a few of the cupcakes. If it comes out wet and has some cake on it then you can put them back in the over for another 5 minutes. Repeat this process until the cupcakes are dry on the inside. We did find out that the cupcakes in the back were done a lot better so you might want to flip them after 10 minutes.
So when the cupcakes are in the oven you can start on making the topping. This is really easy.
You melt the other 100 grams of chocolate in a sauce pan, just try not to burn it. After it's melted you add the liquid whipped cream and vanilla extract. Just stir through and then use a mixer to smooth it all out. After this was done I tasted it and thought it was too bitter from the chocolate. If you like that, leave it the way it is. If you don't I recommend you put some cherry juice in from the Amarena cherries you use, about 2 table spoons should be enough to make it slightly sweeter.
Now you will have to wait until your cupcakes and topping have cooled down, so while you wait I have a fun song for you to sing along to (:
"Like all you lovely folks I've got a dream"
This is what the cupcakes should look like when they are done. I wish you could smell them through the screen ^^
Once the topping has cooled off you take a table spoon and dip that in. Spread it on top of the cupcakes until you have covered them all. Ahh doesn't that look yummy?
Now add the Amarena cherries on top and voila! You have scrumptious cupcakes! See how easy that was?
A very fun way to spend your Sunday afternoons, or any other dark and rainy day.
Bon Apetit darlings!
Love,
Nena
