Dark Chocolate and Vanilla Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Icing

Time to share a very nice, very simple recipe for some delicious Dark Chocolate and Vanilla Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Icing. These cupcakes are topped with the kind of rich and smooth icing that will have you eating a cupcake as a kid does, icing first and all over your face, before you bite down into soft vanilla sponge dotted with chunks of real dark chocolate.

I was chatting with some of my friends on Whatsapp a few days back about bran muffins and who has a good recipe for some, which prompted me to get my cookbooks out page through a few recipes. I was adamant to bake something that was going to throw the results of my latest gym session straight out the window!

These cupcakes are decadent, but in the best way possible and because the egg whites are beaten and folded into the batter you land up with a nice soft crumb that compliments this crazy delicious icing perfectly.

I halved the recipe below which made me about ±15 cupcakes, but if you go with the original quantities you will be swimming in these guys, which is not a bad thing, especially if you have a party to cater for.

Ok so here we go and once again please do let me know if you make them and what you thought, I would also love to see some pics!

Here are a couple more recipes you can try if you think these won’t take your fancy.

Strawberry Milkshake Cupcakes

One Bowl Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Chip and Walnut Cookies

Raspberry, Custard and Maple Syrup Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

· 3 and 1/4 cups cake flour, plus 1 tablespoon which you will need later on down the line, so keep it separate

· 1/4 teaspoon salt

· 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

· 280mls milk

· 1 and a 1/2 teaspoons vanilla essence

· 1 and 3/4 cups sugar

· 200 grams unsalted butter – room temperature

· 5 large egg whites – room temperature

· 1 and 3/4 cups of chocolate chips or chopped up dark chocolate

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat your oven to 175° C or 350°F. Line a standard muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. In a bowl whisk together the 3 and 1/4 cups cake flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
3. In a jug mix together your vanilla essence and milk
4. Using an electric mixer or Kitchen Aid mix the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
5. Lower your speed and then start adding your flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of your vanilla/milk mixture. Do not overbeat.
6. In a clean bowl using an electric mixer whisk your egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter to loosen it a bit then gently fold in the remaining egg whites until just combined.
7. Toss your chocolate chips with your leftover tablespoon of flour (this helps them not to sink to the bottom) and then fold them in gently.
8. Fill your cupcake liners three-quarters of the way up and then bake for between 16-22 mins depending on your oven. Mine is fan-assisted so they were ready after about 16 minutes. Use a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cupcake to see if it’s cooked through.
9. Eat one because there is nothing quite like fresh warm cake straight out of the oven!
10. Leave them to cool completely before icing them.

ICING INGREDIENTS (this recipe makes a lot of icing, so halve it if you’re only making half a batch of cupcakes) :

· 60 grams cocoa

· 1/2 cup boiling water

· 3/4 cup icing sugar

· 500 grams unsalted butter – room temperature

· 650 grams good quality chocolate, chopped. If you’d like a slightly less sweet, more bitter icing then use dark chocolate (I like to use 70% mild Lindt) and if you want a more of a milk chocolate flavour then use something like a Cadburys milk chocolate, which is what I used for this recipe.

DIRECTIONS:

1. In an oven-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water (make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl) add the chopped up chocolate and allow it to melt, stirring it every now and then. Once melted remove the bowl from the on top of the pot and put aside to cool completely.
2. In a cup mix the cocoa and boiling water together to form a smooth paste. Set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and icing sugar together until nice and smooth then add the melted (and cooled) chocolate mixing it until nicely combined. Make sure you scrape down the sides so it’s all mixed together.
4. Next, take your cocoa paste and add it to the icing making sure it’s fully incorporated.
5. You should end up with the shiniest, smoothest icing in allllllllllll the land.
6. Ice your cupcakes using either a small palette knife or butter knife.