Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes with Chocolate Honey Truffle Frosting – get in touch with your dark side!

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I approach cooking from two very different angles:

The instinctive approach: Most of the time I am driven by a not-too-distant hunger/sugar craving and by what is currently available in the fridge/cupboard. In this instance, I think with my tastebuds - a la Accidental Paella – and it usually works out.

The theoretical approach: Sometimes, however, I think the flavours through consciously and carefully before going near the kitchen. I give consideration to the textures. I make sure I have all the ingredients before I start cooking. For example...

... In my head, almond sponge infused with sour cherry liqueur, topped with a swirl of boozy white chocolate ganache and a fat juicy cherry sounds rather good.

Here’s how that looked in my mind’s eye...

I have a vivid imagination... unfortunately the reality was "Meh!"

 My taste-tester’s verdict: “Meh!”

I had to agree. Can you imagine Sandra Dee swigging from a naggin of vodka? – This was the cupcake equivalent. It was trying to be naughty but didn’t quite succeed and certainly wasn’t WTC*.

I needed to get in touch with my dark (chocolate) side. I ditched the liqueur in favour of black cherry conserve in a chocolate sponge mixture. I went for the sharpness of crème fraîche in the truffle frosting, tempered just a hint of honey. They turned out light as a cloud, with sticky cherry bits and you’d sell your grandmother for the truffle frosting.

Taste-tester’s verdict: “Grrmmmwah!” which translates roughly as “Can’t speak. Eating.”

The frosting is best made the day before (so you don’t have to hang about waiting for it to cool)

*Worth The Calories

For 12 large cupcakes you will need...

... to pre-heat the oven to 160°C and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake papers

For the chocolate cherry cake batter

150g butter, softened

100g caster sugar
50g dark Muscovado sugar (or any dark brown sugar)
3 eggs, beaten
125g plain flour
40g cocoa powder, sifted
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda), sifted to remove any lumps
100g good quality cherry conserve (you want chunky bits of fruit)

1                    In a mixing bowl, beat the butter together with the sugars until smoothly blended – 3 to 5 minutes with an electric mixer gets the right texture. Add in the beaten egg in about four lots, mixing well between additions so that the mixture doesn’t curdle. (Don’t fret if it does, it still tastes the same but won’t be quite as light in texture.)

2                    Sprinkle in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda and continue beating just until these dry ingredients are incorporated into the mixture.

3                    Lightly fold in the cherry conserve. You don’t want to incorporate it; you just want it running through the mixture in rich veins of luscious cherry-ness.

4                    Divide the batter between the 12 cupcake papers and transfer to the preheated oven.

5                    Bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until risen and evenly golden.

6                    Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Leave to cool completely before adding the frosting.

For the chocolate honey truffle frosting

200g good quality dark chocolate (70% coco solids), broken into pieces

1 tablespoon of honey (I used a honey with a floral note which sang through)

200g crème fraîche

1                    Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl with the honey.

2                    Place the crème fraîche in a saucepan over a medium heat until it is just simmering at the edges.  Immediately pour over the chocolate and leave to sit for about 3 minutes. (This helps the chocolate meld with the cream more easily).  Then stir gently until the chocolate is incorporated into the cream in a smooth shiny mixture. Cover with clingfilm, letting it sit right on the surface of the ganache and refrigerate until needed.

Worth The Calories!

3                    To frost the cupcakes, remove the ganache mixture from the fridge and let it come to room temperature (I’m talking Irish room temperature - roughly 20°C) and whisk with an electric mixer for a minute or two until light and paler in colour. Spread over the surface of the cupcakes with a spatula or get fancy and pipe swirls of the mixture over the surface and top with a fat juicy cherry. Recommended dose: 1, taken with a cup of coffee (or 2, if you’re having a particularly bad day). 

Note: If the mixture looks grainy and oily it has ‘split’. Don’t panic! Simply whisk with an electric mixer and after a minute or two it should come together in a smooth silky mix.

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Mocha Walnut Cupcakes – Made with Magic Beans!

Pin It It is not every day you get to meet a man who sells magic beans. Unlike Jack (of beanstalk fame) I wasn’t taking my cow to market. I was waiting to be interviewed on the Morning Show on East Coast FM, when Stephen McCabe walked in, bringing with him a delicious aroma of freshly-roasted coffee beans.

Let them eat cake!

We got chatting and it turns out that Stephen is master roaster at McCabe’s Hand-Roasted Coffee. He had just been awarded two gold stars for his espresso – McCabe’s Classic Italian Blend – this year’s top Great Taste Award from the Guild of Fine Foods. This is an outstanding achievement by any stretch, but given they are a small family firm, up against some of the giants in the industry, it is doubly impressive. These are magic beans indeed. 

Dark chocolate coffee cake with a swirl of espresso frosting... about to do a disappearing act !

Stephen’s success has inspired these Mocha Walnut Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream Frosting. I am, of course, using his magic coffee beans.

For 12 large cupcakes you will need...

150g butter, softened

100g caster sugar
50g dark Muscovado sugar (or any dark brown sugar)
3 eggs
125g plain flour
25g cocoa powder, sifted
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of double-strength espresso, cooled (or 1 teaspoon decent instant coffee dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water, then cooled)

Pre-heat your fan oven to 160°C and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake papers

1                   In a mixing bowl, beat the butter together with the sugars until smoothly blended. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well between additions.

2                    Sprinkle in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda and continue beating until these dry ingredients are incorporated into the mixture.

3                   Add the cooled strong coffee and the vanilla essence and mix until incorporated.

4                   Divide the mixture between the 12 cupcake papers and transfer to the preheated oven.

5                   Bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until risen and evenly golden.

6                   Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Leave to cool completely adding the frosting.

For the Espresso Buttercream Frosting you will need...

150g butter, softened

300g icing sugar

1 tablespoon of double-strength espresso, cooled (or 1 teaspoon decent instant coffee dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water, then cooled)

1                   In a mixing bowl, slowly beat the butter together with one-third of the icing sugar until smoothly blended. Add in the rest of the icing sugar and the cooled coffee and continue beating until light and fluffy. I usually set a timer for 5 minutes to ensure gorgeous light frosting.  Transfer to the frosting delivery system cupcakes using a spatula, or pipe in generous swirls and top with toasted walnuts – the perfect complement to an excellent coffee.

We're full of (magic) beans!

I’m lucky enough to live near several of the many coffee shops that sell their coffees and McCabe’s have an online shop if you live further afield. Pin It

Strawberry and Orange Cream Cheese Cupcakes – the 3-second rule applies !

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 When my sister got married, she made a special request. Would I please, please, please make “that amazing carrot cake with the cream cheese frosting” as her wedding cake. While I’d never made a wedding cake before, I was delighted to oblige.

Strawberries and Cream Cheese - the perfect marriage!

The project got off to a bad start...  As I was transferring the largest of the cakes into the oven, the base fell out of the tin, dumping batter all over the bottom of the oven... the floor... my shoes... I made up some new swear words that day.

The hours to the wedding were ticking down so I rolled up my sleeves, gritted my teeth, and started again.

By next morning, the three tiers were baked and frosted. Before the ceremony, I went to the hotel to set up the cake. I had my list: Cake boards ... ü Ribbons ... ü Dowels ... ü Pillars ... ü Roses ... ü It was like a mini-construction site, complete with landscaping.  With the multi-storey cake set up and refrigerated, I went off to the ceremony, much relieved. Job done!

At the end of a wonderful meal, the cake was wheeled out. Was it just me... perhaps the champagne... or was there an ever so slightly Leaning Tower of Pisa look about the cake? Hmmmm...  



I ♥ Strawberries

Thankfully, the cake made it through the photos. I had turned back to chat to my fellow guests when I heard a collective gasp, followed by a soft thud, as if someone had fainted. I refused to look and moments later, the groom tapped me on the shoulder. “Great cake, Hester” he said, “but the engineering skills need work!”  Ooops! The light fluffy carrot cake just wasn't up to the task of supporting several kilos of pillars, and frosting, and roses and the layers of cake above it. (Doh!) Luckily there was enough in the surviving tier for everyone in the room.

Funnily enough, there was no sign of the fallen cake when the hotel staff arrived to clear it up. I have a sneaking suspicion that the 3-second rule was employed by the hungry boy children in the room.

Lower fat cupcakes: "Does my bun look big in this?"

For the most part, I’ve stuck to single-storey cakes since then, but my love of cream cheese has grown so much that as well as using it for frosting, I now put it in various cake batters in place of butter. It adds a whole new flavour dimension as well as cutting the fat content dramatically. Butter is about 81% - cream cheese is around 23%.

The 3-second rule applies to these cakes. In my experience, that’s about how long they remain on the plate J

For 12 cupcakes you will need:

150g Philadelphia Cream Cheese

150g caster sugar

3 eggs

Grated zest of an orange

150g plain flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

Pre-heat your fan oven to 160°C and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake papers

1          In a mixing bowl, whisk the Philadelphia together with the sugar until smoothly blended. Add in the eggs and the orange zest and continue whisking until well combined.

2          Sprinkle in the flour and baking powder and continue whisking until the flour is incorporated into the mixture.

3          Divide the mixture between the 12 cupcake papers and transfer to the preheated oven.

4          Bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until risen and evenly golden.

5          Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Leave to cool completely before piping on the frosting.

For the cream cheese frosting you will need:

125g Philadelphia Cream Cheese

125g softened butter

325g icing sugar

1 punnet of fresh Irish strawberries

6          In a mixing bowl, whisk the Philadelphia together with the butter then slowly add in the icing sugar, whisking continuously until all the sugar has been incorporated and the mixture is smooth and thick. Transfer to a piping bag with a large star nozzle and refrigerate until needed.

7          To finish, pipe a swirl of frosting onto each cupcake and top with a fresh strawberry. Apply to face. Grin happily! 

Apply to face...

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Banana Peanut Butter Muffins have the WOW* factor

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So much of cooking is by accident rather than design. I’m sure I’m not the only cook who hides her mistakes under the nearest tea-towel and celebrates the successes as if they were intended. These successes are a good example of serendipity... (I love that word).

Serendipitous muffins... the best sort!

I had intended porridge for breakfast this morning, but when I entered the kitchen, I was faced with three sad freckled bananas with a ‘pre-compost bin’ look about them. Enter the WOW factor.

My youngest sister is waging *War On Waste. I call it the WOW factor: if she allows a foodstuff to go bad then she cannot buy it for two weeks. To use up the sad bananas, I was inspired to make Banana Peanut Butter Muffins for breakfast instead. Here’s how that inspiration went:

7.30am – After measuring out most of the ingredients, I discover a major butter shortage – nowhere near enough for this recipe. Damn! Must have banana peanut butter muffins...

7.31am - I discover a packet of creamed coconut, with a use-by date of right about now (more WOW factor). It worked perfectly in place of the butter I normally use and filled the kitchen with a heavenly smell – actually pretty similar to the ah-mazing Coconut Melt Massage my holistic therapist sister does.

The result was a light fluffy flavourful muffin and I had just enough butter to make a silky peanut butter icing.

For 18 sinful muffins you will need...

... to pre-heat your oven to 160°C

200g creamed coconut, grated (or softened butter if you prefer)

100g crunchy peanut butter

250g very ripe bananas (that’s about 3 small bananas)

2 eggs

80mls fresh milk

150g plain flour

50g oatmeal flakes

25g Bourneville cocoa powder, sifted

100g caster sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

½ teaspoon salt

50g banana chips (optional)

1          In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the creamed coconut, peanut butter and bananas until they form a smooth mixture. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between additions until well combined. Now, add the milk and beat until combined.

2          Measure the rest of the ingredients - except the banana chips – into a separate bowl.

3          Add the coconut mixture to the flour mixture, stirring with a spatula or wooden spoon just until no dry mixture remains. Finally, stir in the banana chips if using.

4          Using an ice cream scoop or dessert spoon, divide the mixture between 18 lined muffin tins, filling them no more than three-quarters full.

5          Bake for 18 minutes until well risen and cooked through – a toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. If any mixture adheres, bake for a further 5 minutes and test again.

6          When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

They are really good just as they are, with hints of underlying chocolate and coconut flavours beneath the brazen banana peanut exterior. I like to push to boat out by adding a Peanut Butter Frosting. The following quantities make enough frosting to swirl over 6 – 8 muffins – I put the rest into the freezer out of temptation’s way.

For the peanut butter icing you will need...

80g butter, softened

80g crunchy peanut butter (you could use smooth peanut butter if you want completely smooth frosting)

160g icing sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons fresh milk

1          In a medium bowl beat the softened butter together with the peanut butter until combined. Then add the icing sugar and mix until combined. An electric mixer is best for this job but go easy when adding the icing sugar unless you want a lovely sweet cloud filling your kitchen.

Potential sugar cloud...

2          Add the vanilla extract and milk and continue mixing until you have a smooth icing.

3          Swirl a generous portion of icing onto each cooled muffin.

Naughty breakfast is served... WOW!

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Sticky Toffee Cupcakes with Fleur de Sel Caramel – fall for them!

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There is something about the whole Gym thing that makes me think of battery farming. I much prefer free-range exercise, particularly as I am fortunate enough to live in one of Ireland’s most beautiful counties.

Sticky Toffee Cupcakes - I've fallen for them! 

Free-range exercise offers a dilemma of its own - which route to choose? Which view will be more spectacular today?

The lakes are a no-brainer on a frosty morning when a mist sits just above the surface of the water giving the scene a dreamy Camelot-like quality.  The forest has its own charms, and is full of interesting wild life. If I take my mountain bike there I am quite likely to spot a stag; or a doe with its fawn; or on a really good day, a rare red kite.

My beloved will happily hike with me but refuses to take his mountain bike out. There was that unfortunate incident when his rear wheel slipped off a narrow path and his bike came to a dead stop. Making a brave attempt to balance, he wrestled with the uncooperative contraption for a long moment ... before toppling head-over-heels into a ditch.

Luckily he had a soft landing. Unluckily, it was an evil-smelling liquid mud that was the exact colour and texture of warm caramel sauce. Once I established that only his pride was injured I cried with laughter at the bedraggled sight. I still cannot eat this sticky toffee dessert without snickering at the memory!

Ahem! Anyway, it is light and sticky. It is sweet with little hits of salt in the caramel. Good vanilla ice cream completes the picture. Resign yourself to second helpings.

Did I mention it is also extremely versatile? Swap the dates for some of that left-over christmas mincemeat and a teaspoon of grated orange peel and ditch the salt in the sauce for 4 tablespoons of Grand Marnier liqueur. Magic!

For 12 cupcakes you will need...

... to pre-heat the oven to 160°C

200g ready-to-eat dried dates, quartered

100mls tea

1 tablespoon treacle (or molasses)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

110g butter

175g dark brown sugar

3 large eggs

250g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon fine table salt

It's a date!

1          Place the dates, tea and treacle (or molasses) in a saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil then turn down the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, until the dates have absorbed most of the liquid. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and the bicarbonate of soda (which will fizz alarmingly but helps make the cake light and fluffy). Leave to cool.

2          While the dates are cooling, line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin cases.

3          Cream together the butter and sugar until paler in colour and fluffy – an electric mixer/beaters is best for this. Meanwhile in a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.

4          Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between additions, and alternating with a tablespoonful of the flour mixture. When the egg has been combined, add the rest of the flour mixture and beat until just combined.

5          Add the cooled dates - they don’t have to be completely cold – and mix until just combined.

6          Divide the mixture between the 12 muffin cases and transfer to the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes until well risen and cooked through. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. If any mixture adheres, bake for a further 5 minutes and test again.

7          When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Ooooooh yeaaaaah!

To make the fleur de sel caramel sauce you will need...

... to exercise caution – boiling sugar is very, very hot

180g caster sugar

1 teaspoon white malt vinegar

75g butter, cut into walnut-sized pieces

150mls pouring cream

½ teaspoon fleur de sel salt (or other large crystal salt)

1                   Place the sugar and vinegar in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. After 3 minutes or so, the sugar will start to become liquid. Stir until all the crystals have melted into an amber-coloured syrup.

2                   Add the butter and stir until melted - the mixture will bubble vigorously but will soon subside. Remove from the heat then add the cream and stir until smooth. Finally, stir in the fleur de sel salt. Allow the sauce to cool a little before transferring to a sterilised jar.

Le Salt


To serve, remove the cupcakes from their papers. Warm the cakes and the caramel sauce. Dust the cakes with icing sugar and add a generous puddle of caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream.

The first sticky toffee cupcakes of the year, with the first daffodils.

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