Chocolate blackcurrant cupcakes

Seriously loaded cupcakes ;). The deep, tangy flavour of blackcurrants and chocolate is simply irresistible. I made these with the last blackcurrants of the season, but you can make them using frozen fruit. These chocolate blackcurrant cupcakes are doubly packed with blackcurrant: besides the generous swirl of cream on top, they are filled with blackcurrant jam in the centre. Blackcurrant madness!

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients for the chocolate cupcakes:

• 120 g plain flour
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• 120 g butter
• 55 g dark chocolate, chopped
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 2 large eggs
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup sour cream

All the ingredients should be at room temperature. Mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder, then sift and set aside.

Place the butter in a small saucepan and melt. Remove from the heat, add the chopped chocolate and leave to melt, stirring towards the end. Add the sifted cocoa powder and whisk together. Set aside to cool slightly.

Beat the eggs (without separating them) and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and continue beating. Add the chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly using the same whisk attachment. Add the sour cream alternately with the dry ingredients, folding gently with a spatula only until combined.

Line a muffin tin with paper cases. Fill the cases with the batter to about ¾ full.

Bake at 170°C for about 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Ingredients for the filling:

• ½ jar blackcurrant jam

Ingredients for the blackcurrant gel:

• 250 g blackcurrants (fresh or frozen), stalks removed
• 1½ teaspoons powdered gelatine (4.5 g)
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon potato starch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

Pour a small amount of cold water over the gelatine, just enough to cover it. Leave to bloom for 10 minutes.

Place the blackcurrants and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the lemon juice and the starch mixture, stir, bring to the boil and remove from the heat. Add the bloomed gelatine to the hot fruit sauce and stir until dissolved. Chill until the fruit sauce has cooled and thickened to a gel-like consistency.

Ingredients for the blackcurrant cream:

• 375 g mascarpone (1½ packs), chilled
• the entire batch of blackcurrant gel, chilled, recipe above

Place the mascarpone and blackcurrant gel in the bowl of a mixer and mix until smooth.

Method:

Prepare the cooled cupcakes by gently trimming off the domed tops with a knife. Carefully hollow out the centre of each cupcake (you can use a small knife or teaspoon; I used an apple corer). Fill the hollowed centres with blackcurrant jam using a piping bag with the end snipped off, or simply a teaspoon.

Transfer the finished blackcurrant cream to a piping bag fitted with a decorative nozzle (e.g. Wilton 1M). Pipe the cream onto the cupcakes and decorate with fresh fruit.

Note: The blackcurrant cream is best piped onto the cupcakes on the day they are served, as it darkens slightly afterwards.

Enjoy!