Christmas Cupcake Recipe

Ingredients

1. 110g Self-raising Flour (sifted)
2. 25g Unsweetened Dark Cocoa powder (sifted)
3. 1/4 teaspoon Salt
4. 120g Granulated sugar
5. 80g Oil
6. 1 Egg (room temp)
7. 50g Whole milk (room temp)
8. 50g Strong coffee (freshly brewed, room temp)

Chocolate ganache filling

1. 45g Semi-sweet chocolate
2. 60g Double cream (40% fat)

White Frosting

1. 120g Mascarpone (use it cold)
2. 80g Double cream (40% fat, use it very cold)
3. 30g Icing sugar

Green Frosting

1. 240g Mascarpone (use it cold)
2. 160g Double cream 40% (40% fat, use it very cold)
3. 60g Icing sugar
4. Green food colouring (powder or gel)

Equipment

1. Cupcake tin
2. Cupcake cases
3. Piping bag and nozzles

Instructions

For the cupcake

Tip 1: Room temperature ingredients encourages proper emulsification of the cupcake batter therefore make sure egg, milk and coffee are all on room temperature Tip 2: Do not overmix the cupcake butter, it should come together in a minute or two and no need to use a mixer Tip 3: The recipe is designed to make 6 bakery style tall cupcakes. Cupcake cases are coming in different sizes in terms of their height, try to look for the taller ones

1. Pre-heat oven to 175C
2. Prepare a muffin tin with muffin cases
3. Whisk wet ingredients: room temperature egg, oil, milk, coffee just until combined
4. Sift dry ingredients: self-raising flour, cocoa powder, salt and sugar
5. Pour wet into dry ingredients and mix the batter with a hand whisk just until combined
6. Fill cupcake cases till ¾
7. Bake for 23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcake comes out clean
8. Cool cupcakes to room temp before filling and frosting them

For the chocolate ganache

Tip 4: Heat double cream until just simmering. If it’s boiling, the cream is too hot and could burn the chocolate. If the cream is not warm enough, it won´t melt the chocolate properly and won’t emulsify

1. Place finely chopped chocolate into a bowl, try to use high quality chocolate
2. Heat double cream until just simmering then pour warm cream over the chopped chocolate
3. Let the two sit for a minute then stir together or use a blender to emulsify
4. Let the ganache cool for 30 minutes and use according to the recipe. The ganache will thicken as it cools

For the frosting

Tip 5: There are a couple of important notes to make stiff yet light, pipeable frosting. If using the right technique, there is no need to use tons of sugar, instead, enjoy this creamy, light and airy mascarpone & cream frosting that is balanced in sweetness

• Use full fat mascarpone (41%+) cold from the fridge
• Use high fat double cream (40%) very cold, best, if it chilled in the freezer for 10 minutes before using it
• Sift icing sugar to avoid lumps
• Key thing is not over whip the mixture. As soon as it reaches a fluffy, pipeable consistency (1-2 minutes), stop beating the frosting to avoid breaking it. Do not use stand mixer or walk away while whipping mascarpone & cream frosting as this frosting is very delicate and can be easily over whipped

Tip 6: The green and white frostings are identical except the food colouring. Food colouring is the easiest way to colour the frosting however make sure you use powder or gel, liquid colouring can easily break the consistency of the frosting. Alternatively, if wanted to add taste too, not just colour, 100% pistachio paste or matcha powder can be used to achieve green colour. The depth of the colour is usually in line with the quality of the colouring whether it is food colouring or pistachio paste or matcha

1. Make the white frosting by whip cold mascarpone, very cold heavy cream and sifted icing sugar with an Electric hand mixer until smooth and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Once it has reached the right consistency, do not overbeat as it can become runny
2. The preparation of the green frosting is identical with the white one except mix in the food colouring towards for the last 30 seconds, just before mixture reaches fluffy consistency

Assembling

Tip 7: Before assembling make sure cupcakes are cooled to room temperature, ganache is slightly thickened and frosting is freshly whipped

1. Make a small hole on top of each of the cupcakes and fill them with chocolate ganache. Pop them into the freezer for 3 minutes to set
2. First pipe the white frosting on top of the cupcakes then the green one using Wilton 1M piping nozzle tip to achieve the lovely Christmas tree pattern
3. Decorate with sprinkles and dust with icing sugar for snow effect, if desired
4. The cupcakes will stay moist and fluffy in the fridge for days however they are the best on the same day they are made. Store in fridge