I came across a jar of chocolate orange spread in Sainsburys which gave me the idea for these delicious chocolate orange cupcakes.
This recipe was supposed to make 12 cupcakes but I made 16.
Ingredients:
175g margarine
175g caster sugar
3 eggs
200g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
zest of one orange
4 tbsp milk
16 tbsp chocolate orange spread
To start, mix 175g margarine and 175g caster sugar in a bowl until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition.
.JPG)
Now add the dry ingredients, sieve the flour and baking powder into the bowl and mix well. Finally stir in the milk and orange zest.
Switch on your oven to gas mark 4 / 180°C, while you're waiting for the oven to heat up line your muffin tins with paper cases and fill each case around two thirds full. Don't overfill the cases or the cakes will overflow in the oven when they rise.
Now to add the chocolate spread. Warm up 16 teaspoons chocolate spread (one per cupcake) until it's runny. Add a teaspoon to each cupcake.
Then with a cocktail stick gently stir the mix creating a marbled effect like in the picture below.
Put in the oven on the middle shelf for 25mins or until golden brown. When you remove the cupcakes from the oven, leave them for around 5 minutes before you put them on a wire rack to cool completely.
For the icing:
100g dark chocolate
200g milk chocolate
100ml double cream
100g margarine
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
250g chocolate orange spread
Melt the chocolate in the microwave, be careful not to burn it though! Once the chocolate has melted completely add to a mixing bowl and add the cream, butter and vanilla essence and beat well with an electric whisk. Once fully combined add the chocolate orange spread. I can't tell you how delicious this is, you just have to try it!
Once the cupcakes have cooled completely add the icing using a piping bag or spatula. Here's a photo of the final product, I used an icing bag with a Wilton 1M nozzle which is my favourite.
.JPG)