Birthday chocolate cupcakes with pink cream
I made these cupcakes for Pola’s birthday – much simpler and quicker than making a cake, yet just as festive. Pola chose the chocolate cupcakes and the sweet pink frosting herself. She was delighted – they lived up to her expectations, although she soon forgot about the pink frosting and tucked into the chocolate cake instead ;). The frosting is sweet and delicately buttery, with the addition of creamy Philadelphia-style cream cheese. The cupcakes stay fresh for a long time and remain soft. I definitely wouldn’t make them for an ordinary day, but for birthdays and other special occasions, they are perfect.
Makes 14 cupcakes.
Ingredients for the cupcakes:
- 220 g butter
- 150 g caster sugar
- 210 g plain flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 4 eggs
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 50 g finely chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips
All the ingredients should be at room temperature.
Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition only until combined. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder directly into the creamed mixture. Fold together with a spatula just until combined. Finally, fold in the chopped dark chocolate.
Line a standard muffin tin with paper cases. Divide the batter between the cases, filling them to about ¾ full.
Bake for about 22 minutes at 170°C, 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 frosting:
- 300 g Philadelphia-style cream cheese
- 250 g butter
- 1¾ cups icing sugar
- food colouring, to taste
All the ingredients should be at room temperature.
Place the butter and icing sugar in the bowl of a mixer and beat until you have a light, very fluffy buttercream. Gradually add the cream cheese, beating continuously. Finally, add the food colouring and beat until the colour is evenly distributed. Chill for 1 hour.
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a decorative nozzle, e.g. Wilton 1M. Pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.
Store the birthday cupcakes in the fridge. The frosting also holds up well at room temperature for a long time without affecting its appearance.
Enjoy!
