Best ever Chocolate cupcakes

These cupcakes are so yummy, so chocolaty and both rich and light at the same time. They are also very easy to make.

Here’s what you need for 12 cupcakes:

120 grams of self raising flour

180 grams of caster sugar

60 grams of good quality cocoa powder

1/2 tsp salt

1tsp baking soda

1 egg

120 g/130ml of sunflower oil

1 tsp vanilla paste

75 ml/g of milk

150 ml/g boiling water

You can make these cupcakes dairy free, if so just skip the milk and add 225 ml of boiling water instead of 150 ml. I can assure you i will taste just as good:)

For the icing:

60 grams of butter

270 grams of icing sugar

30 grams of cocoa powder

1 tbsp of boiling water

1 tsp vanilla paste

100 grams of cream cheese

This recipe makes 12 normal size cupcakes or about 30 mini ones.

Place 12 cupcake cases in a cupcake tin. Turn the oven on 175 degrees/160 fan.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Put to the side.

Measure the oil in a jug. Add the egg, milk (if using) and vanilla paste and mix around until thick and smooth. Pour it into the the dry ingredients and whisk around until all ingredients are mixed together, there might be some lumps but that’s fine. The batter will be quite thick.

Boil the water and mix it with the other ingredients. You’ll now have a smooth, quite runny paste.

Pour the batter into the cupcake cases. For less spillage, you can first pour the batter into a big jug before adding it to the cases. Or use a soup ladle.

Bake for about 18 minutes. If making mini cupcakes, bake for 5-7 min.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.

How to make the icing 

Mix the soft butter, icing sugar, cocoa powder, water and vanilla paste together until smooth, using a stand mixer or electric whisk. You might need to add a bit more water. I find that on cold days, it’s hard to get the butter really soft, so you might need more boiling water. But only add a few drops at a time.

Add the cream cheese and keep mixing for a few minutes until you have a smooth and light icing.

Using a piping bag a your preferred nozzle, pipe the icing on the cupcakes (make sure they’ve completely cooled down).

Add some sprinkles, edible flowers or fresh berries for decoration.

Ideal for a birthday party or and edible gift to a dear friend.

Chocolate and raspberries is always a nice combination