I'm on a Nigella Lawson kick, and this recipe from "How to be a Domestic Goddess" (which I tweaked only slightly) seemed too easy and too good to pass up. And it is - though it only took a little more than an hour from start to finish, including washing (okay, rinsing) dishes, I wound up with a dozen beautiful chocolate soldiers, ready to brighten anyone's day.
The batter:
1 stick unsalted butter
4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
12 ounces (one small jar) of cherry jam
1/3 cup sugar
large pinch of salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup cake flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. When it's almost completely melted, add the chocolate pieces. Let the pan sit over the heat for 15 seconds or so and then turn off the heat (remove the pan from the hot burner if working on an electric stove) and stir the butter and chocolate until smooth and shiny. Add the jam, sugar, salt, and eggs and stir. Add the flour and baking powder to the saucepan and mix until the flour is just incorporated.
Spoon the mixture into lined cupcake tins, being careful to fill the tins only 2/3 full (otherwise your cupcakes will spill over and have large flat tops). Bake for 25 minutes on the middle rack of your oven. When done, cool in the pan on the cooling rack for 10 minutes, then remove them from the pan and cool on the rack.
The frosting:
1/3 cup heavy cream
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
12 chocolate covered cherries
Place the cream and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium heat. Warm the cream to almost boiling and then remove the pan from the heat and stir until smooth. Allow the mixture (which is actually a ganache) to cool to room temperature. Then whisk the ganache until it's thick. Apply to the cupcakes like any other icing and top with a chocolate cherry. Enjoy!
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