Extra Special Chocolate Cupcakes

Name: Extra Special Chocolate Cupcakes
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 23 min
Cuisine: International
Ingredients: 100 g Plain flour; 50 g Cocoa powder; 150 g Caster sugar (normal or golden); ½ tsp Baking powder; ½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda; 1 Egg; 50 ml Espresso coffee* (or strong normal coffee); 90 ml Milk (any kind); Squeeze Lemon juice**; 1 ½ tbsp Vegetable oil; ½ tsp Vanilla extract; 60 g Plain or milk chocolate, or 30 g of each

Love Baking Over a year ago 5,865 views

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 18 mins

Ingredients

100 g Plain flour
50 g Cocoa powder
150 g Caster sugar (normal or golden)
½ tsp Baking powder
½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
1 Egg
50 ml Espresso coffee* (or strong normal coffee)
90 ml Milk (any kind)
Squeeze Lemon juice**
1 ½ tbsp Vegetable oil
½ tsp Vanilla extract
60 g Plain or milk chocolate, or 30 g of each

Accompaniment

Description

When I make chocolate cupcakes, I usually just add chocolate to my basic cupcake recipe. This works well, but these really are extra special. Rich and chocolatey.

Method

1
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper cases (you will get between 10 and 14 cupcakes, depending on the size of your cases).

Squeeze a little lemon juice into the milk. If not using chocolate chips, chop the chocolate into small pieces.

Sift together the cocoa powder, flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the sugar, then the egg, coffee, milk, oil and vanilla extract. Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes until smooth and velvety. It may seem like a long time but it is worth it. Fold in the chocolate.

Divide the mixture between the paper cases, filling each one about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until springy / until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of one of the cupcakes. They will be risen and slightly domed (a feature of this recipe, unlike a traditional sponge). Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely before dusting with icing sugar or decorating with buttercream or ganache. Or, if you can't wait, serve slightly warm dusted with icing sugar!

Chef's Tips

*You cannot taste the coffee in the cake, but it enhances the flavour of the chocolate.

**If you have buttermilk, use it instead of the milk & lemon juice.