Moist Chocolate Cupcakes With Buttercream Icing

This is the first of what will hopefully be many cupcake recipes. This one is great because they are super chocolaty and also really easy to make. 


Essential skills: none 


Essential equipment: electric beater (or a very strong arm) 



Ingredients: 
(makes 18 large / 30 small) 

1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1tsp bicarb

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract  



Method: 

Preheat oven to 180 and line cupcake trays with cupcake liners.

Sift dry ingredients into a bowl.

Add the egg, water, buttermilk, oil and vanilla extract and mix with electric beater for 3 minutes.

Scoop mixture into prepared cupcake trays (fill about 1/3 of the way).

Bake for 20 minutes.



Dark Chocolate Buttercream Icing

175g icing sugar

50g cocoa

45ml cold water

115g soft unsalted butter



Sift the cocoa together with icing sugar.

Beat the butter to a cream.

Add water and icing/cocoa, mixing together gradually while beating.

Butternut soup

Here is a great recipe for butternut soup. It is lovely and warming on a cold day. 

Essential skills: none

Essential equipment: stick blender 

Ingredients:

1 butternut peeled and diced

2 onions chopped

2 cloves garlic diced

2cm piece of ginger peeled and grated

1 potato peeled and diced

1 ½ stock cubes (dissolved in 750ml boiling water)

10ml oil

Method:

1.     Heat oil

2.     Add onions, fry till soft

3.     Add ginger and garlic

4.     Add butternut and potato

5.     Add stock

6.     Add enough water so that everything is covered and simmer for aprox 1 hour till all ingredients are soft.

7.     Blend thoroughly

8.     Enjoy!

For an added treat add a dash of cream before serving.

Peppermint crisp delight

Peppermint crisp delight is a truly South African dessert that everyone enjoys. The original recipe is supposed to use orley whip (in fact I think they invented it) but I like to use cream, because who doesn't like excessive amounts of cream?

Essential skills: none

Essential equipment: Electric beater (or a very strong arm for whipping all the cream)

Ingredients:

1 large peppermint crisp

500ml cream

1 tin Nestle caramel treat

1 or 2 packets of tennis biscuits

Method:

Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks

stir in the tin of caramel

crush or grate the peppermint crisp and add most of it (leave some to sprinkle on top)

place a layer of tennis biscuits at the bottom of a large dish (some people crush the biscuits but I prefer them whole

cover with a layer of cream mixture

add another layer of biscuits

add another layer of mixture

repeat as necessary until dish is full/mixture is gone

sprinkle remaining peppermint crisp

refrigerate

This can be served immediately after you have assembled it but I find it is a lot nicer if you do it in advance and refrigerate it overnight as it gives the biscuits a chance to soften. Sooo good...