Both my husband and Wee One absolutely love Mint Choc Chip Ice Cream and every weekend (more or less!) for a special treat after dinner that is exactly what Wee One asks for (complete with Chocolate Sauce and Sprinkles!), so I decided for a change to make some Mint Chocolate Cupcakes instead. Light and moist chocolate cupcakes are topped with a lovely fresh tasting mint buttercream creating the perfect popular flavour combination! It is my basic cupcake recipe and is so simple to make that even Wee One helped out, both with the cupcakes and decorating (unfortunately his finished cupcakes didn't quite make the photography session!!).
If you
are a fan of Mint Chocolate you will love these and they are special
enough that they would make a delicious fun dessert to offer at your
next dinner party.....the only problem I had was that they didn't
even last until the weekend!
For an
extra special treat instead of the Buttercream you could top the
cupcakes with a scoop of Mint Choc Chip Ice cream. Chocolate sauce
and sprinkles are optional!
Makes
12 cupcakes
100g
plain or all-purpose flour
20g
cocoa powder
140g
caster or berry sugar
1 ½
tsp baking powder
a
pinch of salt
40g
unsalted butter, softened
½ tsp
vanilla extract
120ml
milk
1
egg
For
the Mint Buttercream:
250g
icing sugar
85g
unsalted butter, softened
25ml
milk
few
drops of mint extract
few
drops of green food colouring (optional)
To
Decorate:
Edible green glitter (optional)
Edible green glitter (optional)
Small
sprigs of fresh mint
Preheat
your oven to 170C/ 325F/ GM 3 and line a cupcake tin with large (or
decorated) paper cases.
Place
the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter into the bowl
of a KitchenAid (or other freestanding mixer) and using the paddle
attachment mix slowly until everything is combined and you have a
sandy consistency (if you don't have a KitchenAid use a hand-held
electric beater).
While
the mixer is running, slowly pour in half of the milk and mix until
it's just incorporated. Add the egg to the remaining milk along with
the vanilla, quickly mix then add to the bowl and continue beating
until it's mixed in. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure
everything is properly mixed but be careful not to over beat the
mixture.
Evenly
spoon the cake mixture into the cupcake cases and bake for 20-25
minutes until the sponge bounces back when touched (with my oven 22
minutes works perfectly every time) and a skewer comes out clean when
put into the center of the cake. Leave to cool for a few minutes then
transfer the cupcakes onto a wire rack.
While
the cakes are cooling make the buttercream. Sieve the icing sugar
into the bowl of the mixer then add the softened butter and beat on a
low setting until it comes together. Increase the speed a little and
continue beating until it is well mixed. Turn the mixer off then add
the milk, a few drops of mint extract (go easy – you can always add
more but you can't take it away!) and if using, a few drops of green
food colouring. Beat the icing until
everything is well mixed then turn the speed up a little and leave to
beat for up to 5 minutes until the icing is light and fluffy.
This looks so pretty!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nik! :)
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