Featured Formula

You cannot really go wrong with the chocolate cupcake. My recipe is pretty spectacular and always sells out in my bake shop.

The vanilla, chocolate and raisin butter cream with the chocolate cupcake underneath creates the perfect balance on the taste buds. It is also secretly addictive so beware when only making one batch.

Here is how you make my delicious Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla, Chocolate and Raisin Butter Cream.

Serving: 12 cupcakes
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Baking time: 20 minutes   

Ingredients:

• 200g Butter (at room temperature)
• 200g Caster Sugar
• 140g Plain Flour
• 60g Cocoa Powder (I like to use over 70% Cocoa solid)
• Pinch of Salt
• 4 Free Range Organic Eggs
• 2 tsp Baking Powder

Vanilla Butter Cream:

• 500g Icing Sugar
• 250g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)
• 1½ tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• 30g Chopped Raisins
• 4 tbsp Milk

Chocolate Butter Cream:

• 250g Icing Sugar
• 125g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)
• 40g Melted Dark Chocolate (I like to use over 70% cocoa solids)
• 2 to 4 tbsp Milk
• 20g Chopped Raisins

Method:

• Set your oven to 180 Degrees Celsius and line a cupcake baking tray with paper cupcake liners.
• In a clean, dry bowl add your butter at room temperature and beat for 5 minutes until the butter turns from a yellow colour to a pale cream colour.
• Once this colour change occurs add in your caster sugar and beat again until the texture turns light and fluffy.
• Add in your eggs one at a time, ensuring that each egg has been well incorporated before the next addition of egg.
• In a separate bowl, add your flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and stir with a spoon.
• Add your dry ingredients into your wet egg mixture and incorporate well until all of the ingredients are mixed together.
• Spoon your cupcake batter into your paper cupcake liners until they are 2/3 full. This will leave enough space for your cupcakes to rise in the oven, without any over spill.
• Place your cupcakes into the oven and leave to bake for 20 minutes.
• Once your cupcakes spring back to the touch, they are ready to be removed from the oven.
• Once your cupcakes are out of the oven, leave to stand in their baking tray for 10 minutes. Once this 10 minutes is up, remove them from their baking tray and leave to stand on a wire cooling rack until completely cold.
• While your cupcakes are cooling, this will leave you with the perfect time to create your two types of butter cream.

Vanilla and Raisin Butter Cream:

• In a bowl, add your butter and beat for 5 minutes, until the butter turns from a yellow colour to a pale cream colour.
• Once this colour change occurs, add in your icing sugar one spoon at a time. DO NOT USE AN ELECTRIC MIXER unless you have a shield, otherwise all of your icing sugar will end up everywhere other than in your butter cream.
• Once all of your icing sugar has been mixed into the butter, add in your vanilla extract, chopped raisins and milk.
• Beat again and pipe onto your cupcakes. I like to make a layer of vanilla butter cream on the top of the cupcake and then pipe on a little chocolate butter cream for the colour contrast.

Chocolate and Raisin Butter Cream:

• Repeat the first two steps that you did for the vanilla butter cream.
• Once these two steps are complete add in your melted chocolate, raisins and mix again.
• If your butter cream is a little tough, add in some milk, until you have achieved the correct consistency.
• Pipe on top of your vanilla butter cream and decorate with sugar paste flowers.

These cupcakes are great to serve with tea or coffee, or even as a delectable treat to take home. Hope you have enjoyed this recipe and if you are looking for some more baking inspiration, visit our website: http://www.jenniferscakes.co.uk/recipes-and-more/