Pink Chocolate Cupcakes

Most little girls love chocolate and they love pink. So for birthday party cupcakes you can’t really go wrong with chocolate cupcakes with pink flower decorations.

I found some excellent cerise pink cases which went beautifully with the rich, dark chocolate sponge and made some light pink sugarpaste flowers. A swirl of chocolate buttercream and a few sprinkles of pink sugar and pink and white polka dots tie the colours together.

Pink Chocolate Cupcakes

I prefer to use a victoria sponge style base for my cupcakes as I find the American style too sweet but you can use any chocolate cupcake base. I also think it is the perfect partner for chocolate buttercream as the buttercream is so rich and smooth.

Recipe

The following recipe will make around 12 large cupcakes:

Ingredients

175g butter

175g caster sugar

3 eggs

150g SR flour

60g cocoa powder

A splash of milk

Method

Set the oven to 175°C. Line a muffin or cupcake tin with cupcake cases. You may need two trays if your cases are quite small.

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until well incorporated.

Sieve in the flour and cocoa powder together and fold in gently. Add a splash of milk if the mixture is a little stiff.

Spoon the mix into the cupcake cases and bake for around 20 minutes or until springy to the touch.

Leave to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Decorating

You will need:

chocolate buttercream, pink flower modelling paste, pink sugar sprinkles, pink and white polka dot sprinkles; a rolling pin and flower cutter.

If your cupcakes are uneven, slightly different sizes or just if you prefer them flat you can slice the top off to level them using a bread knife.

Start by kneading the pink modelling paste well and then rolling out to a thickness of around 3-5mm. Cut out the flower shapes and leave to dry.

Make the buttercream:

300g icing sugar

150g softened butter

60g cocoa powder

A splash of milk

Beat the butter until smooth. Add the sieved icing sugar and cocoa and beat, slowly at first, until smooth and creamy. Add some milk and beat again. You need a good consistency for piping: not too stiff but not so runny that it won’t hold its shape.

Pipe swirls of chocolate buttercream onto the cupcakes and top with a pink flower. Finish off with a light sprinkle of pink sugar and pink and white polka dots.

In fact, who needs a party? Perfect anytime!

Categories: Baking, Cakes, Cupcakes, Recipes

Tags: baking, birthday, cake, chocolate, cupcakes, flower, frosting, icing, parties, pink, recipe, sprinkles