White chocolate hi-hat cupcakes
Incredibly rich and soft chocolate cupcakes topped with silky swiss meringue icing, coated with crunchy white chocolate...They are easier to make than they look! There's quite a lot of sugar in the icing, but I find them lighter than the buttercream. Definitely a must try!
ingredients
makes 12
for the cupcakes:
121g flour
220g granulated sugar
42g cocoa
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
half teaspoon baking powder
125ml buttermilk
45g rapeseed oil
1 medium egg
125ml espresso coffee
1 teaspoon salt
for the swiss meringue icing:
340g sugar
3 medium egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
for the chocolate coating:
300g white chocolate (there will will lots of leftover chocolate - I recommend making an easy chocolate bark with it)
3 tablespoons rapeseed oil
mini speckled eggs to decorate
12 teacup cupcake cases (similar here)
a muffin tin
instructions
to make the cupcakes:
1. In a large bowl, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
2. In a separate bowl combine the oil, eggs, buttermilk and coffee.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well until smooth and well combined (the batter will be very wet).
4. Divide equally between the cases and bake in 175C for around 25 minutes.
to make the swiss meringue icing:
1. With an electric mixer or a balloon whisk, beat the egg whites with cream of tartar and sugar for 1 minute until they become foamy.
2. Place the bowl with egg whites over a pan of barely simmering water and continue beating for around 12 minutes until stiff peaks form.
3. Transfer to a piping bag with a round nozzle attached, and pipe over the cupcakes, starting from the middle.
4. Chill in the fridge or freezer for around half an hour.
to make the chocolate coating:
1. Break up the chocolate and oil in a tall mug with a diameter large enough to fit the cupcakes.
2. Microwave on high power for 2 minutes until the chocolate has dissolved.
3. Set aside to cool completely (but don't let it go hard).
- take the cupcakes out of a fridge and dip them into the mug of chocolate.
- hold it upside down to let the chocolate drip off.
- top with some speckled mini eggs.
I used Martha Stewart's recipe for the swiss meringue icing.
enjoy!
