Fabulous Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes

This recipe will make 20 cupcakes. The base is like a brownie mixture which is then topped with a great creamy ganache and chocolate curls.

Chocolate Brownie Cakes Ingredients
250g butter, chopped
150g dark eating chocolate (Bournville or similar)
440g caster sugar chocolate
250mil water
225g plain flour
40g self-raising flour
25g cocoa powder
2 eggs

Ganache Ingredients
300ml double cream
400g dark eating chocolate

Decorations
200g milk chocolate
200g white chocolate
Glace ginger (optional)

Equipment required
2 12-hole muffin pan trays
muffin cases
large heavy based saucepan
sieve
large mixing bowl
electric whisk

• First preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius or 150 if it is fan assisted.
• Put the muffin cases in the muffin tray
Cakes
• Put butter, chocolate, sugar ad water in a saucepan. Melt together on a slow heat, stirring all the time. The mixture will become smooth. Once it is all smooth pour it into a large mixing bowl and leave it to cool for 15 minutes.
• Sift the flours and the cocoa powder and whisk them into the chocolate mixture with an electric whisk
• Whisk the eggs into the mixture
• Don’t worry that the mixture seems runny still. It is like a brownie mix so it is meant to be like that
• Pour the mixture into the muffin cases. These cakes don’t rise hugely so fill the muffin cases to about two-thirds full (but no more). You don’t want them too high as you have to put the ganache on top
• Bake cakes for about 35 minutes

Ganache
While the cakes are cooking you can make the ganache as it needs time to get to the right consistency
• Coarsely chop the chocolate and put into a large bowl
• Pour the cream into a heavy-based saucepan and put on a gentle heat
• Heat until it starts to boil
• Pour over the chocolate and keep stirring until smooth. It may go a slightly strange consistency to start with but be patient and it will become a lovely glossy consistency
• Cover the bowl with cling-film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (an hour if you have time)

Decorating
It is important that the chocolate is at room temperature and has not been kept in the fridge to make the chocolate curls. Personally I think that a combination of white and milk chocolate look great on these cupcakes but I have also used just dark chocolate. Use whatever you think looks good. I have also used chopped glace ginger which looks and taste great

To make the chocolate curls, use a simple vegetable peeler and using reasonable force scrape along the long side of the chocolate bar.

Once the ganache has a nice spreadable consistency, spread it generously on each cake and immediately add plenty of chocolate curls or glace ginger.

Tips
My tips for these cakes would be:
• Try and use big muffin cases and gold or silver ones really make the cakes look special
• Make sure the ganache has become thicker and spreadable (consistency of chocolate spread) before using it otherwise it will run down the sides
• Use plenty of chocolate curls to make they look extravagant
• Try and have something great to serve them on – like a great tiered cake stand or a large white plate