missprint

Well, I was merrily writing away, my fingers a mere blur against the keyboard when I realised that I hadn't received an Easter egg this year! I was outraged and decided to remedy this by making Nigella's Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes, being inspired by Esurientes. I was seduced by the simplicity of the recipe, the cake mix is prepared all in one saucepan. The butter needn't be softened (if like me, you are a spontaneous baker and keep your butter in the fridge, softening butter in a microwave is a Herculean task) and there's only one pan to wash up. Not to mention the slightly exotic ingredient of a jar of black cherry jam. Well, how could I resist such a recipe?

The only calamity was the chocolate ganache icing which I managed to ruin on the first attempt. I'm not quite sure what went wrong, I suspect that I burnt the chocolate and caused the ganache to split, resulting in an oily, gritty mess. I decided to try again, this time with a creamier milk chocolate and by barely letting the cream heat up. I whipped the pan straight off the stove as soon as the chocolate started melting, stirred it until it became a smooth, creamy mixture. Transfer it to a bowl and put in the fridge. When it's cooled after about 15 or 20 minutes, get it out and whisk like fury so that you end up with a silky smooth, just set ganache.

Nigella's original recipe calls for natural coloured glace cherries, which set on top of the glossy dark ganache looks incredibly sophisticated and chic. However, combine my love of kitsch and seeing as this was my first time baking cupcakes, I thought I'd treat myself to some frivolous decorations. I spied these Barbie sprinkles at Asda and decided that I simply had to have them. Slurp.

Nigella's Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

for the cupcakes
125g unsalted butter
100g dark chocolate, broken up into small squares
300g cherry jam (I recommend Hartley's Black Cherry jam because it's not too sweet and contains whole cherries)
150g caster sugar
a pinch of salt
2 large eggs, beaten
150g self-raising flour, sifted (I had to substitute this for plain flour with three level teaspoons of baking powder)
Muffin tin and paper cases

for the ganache
120g chocolate (dark if you want a more elegant, grown-up cupcake, milk for the sweet-tooths out there)
100g double cream
Glace cherries or sprinkles to decorate

Preheat the oven to 180c / gas mark 4.

Cut the butter up into rough chunks if it's just come out of the refrigerator, if it's already softened then I imagine it can just go into the pan as it is. Try to do this in a non-stick, heavy bottomed saucepan so that it doesn't burn the mixture. Heat the butter in the pan and when it's almost completely melted, add the chocolate and take the pan off the heat. Stir the mixture thoroughly with a wooden spoon so that the butter and chocolate mix completely and then add the cherry jam, sugar, salt and eggs. Stir until it becomes a smooth mixture and then start adding the flour. I added about a fifth of the flour each time and then mixed it into a smooth paste in order to avoid any pesky lumps.

Line your muffin tin with the paper cases and distribute the mixture equally. For some reason I couldn't find my 12-bun muffin tin so I had to make do with baking it in two batches in my 6-bun tin. It took 25 minutes for the muffins to cook but bear in mind that I don't have a lovely fan-assisted oven, so keep your eye on the time. When the muffins are cooked, a metal skewer (or knife for those who are skewer-deprived like me) inserted should come out cleanly and when tested with a (clean!) finger, should feel cautiously springy. Leave the muffins to cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack.

Leave them to cool and resist the temptation to devour one whilst making the ganache.

Pour the cream into a saucepan and add the chocolate. Heat this mixture whilst stirring gently and when the chocolate just starts to melt and bleed into the double cream, take it off the heat and keep on stirring. When the chocolate has completely melted into the cream, transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes. When the mixture has cooled, whisk (preferrably with an electric handwhisk to make such matters easier) until it coalesces into a buttercream-like consistency. It should be thick enough to stand in peaks briefly when you take the whisk out. Smooth the ganache onto your cupcakes using the back of a spoon and decorate either with sprinkles or cherries. The only thing left to do is eat. Preferably on your own.