Chocolate cupcakes

This recipe is adapted from a vegetarian cookbook, and it’s quickly become a favorite for its delicious frosting and fluffy base!

Ingredients

For the cupcake

• 175g plain or all-purpose flour
• 2tsp cocoa powder
• 1.5tsp baking powder
• 140g sugar
• 25g ground almonds
• 2 large eggs
• 175g full-fat yogurt
• 2-3 drops vanilla extract
• 25g butter, melted
• 2tsp rapeseed oil

For the frosting

• 25g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 1tbsp dark chocolate, grated for decorating
• 25g butter, softened
• 50g icing (powdered) sugar
• 1tbsp cocoa powder
• 1tsp semi-skimmed milk
• 100g low-fat curd cheese. This is known as twaróg in Polish, and it’s a crumbly looking cheese as seen here
• 100g quark or mascarpone cheese

Notes

I used higher-fat milk and cheeses for the frosting, which still led to good results.

For the dry ingredients of the cupcake, I recommend sifting.

I found that this recipe yields more frosting than is needed, but it also seems good as a spread if you do have some left over.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and prepare your baking tray, lining it with baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, add the flour and the cocoa powder. Add the baking powder, sugar and almonds, then make a well in the center of the bowl.
3. In another bowl, beat the eggs and combine them with the yogurt and vanilla essence.
4. Add the egg mix to the center of the large bowl, then mix everything for a short period of time, just until it all comes together.
5. Divide the mixture equally between the cupcake forms.
6. Put the tray in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. This toothpick test is important for most baking recipes.
7. Take out the cupcakes and leave them to cool.
8. To make the frosting, steam the chocolate (place it in a thermally resistent bowl over a pot of boiling water) until melted.
9. In a bowl, add the butter, icing sugar, cocoa powder and milk and mix until you obtain a cream-like consistency.
10. Incorporate the two cheeses to the mixture.
11. When the chocolate has slightly cooled, add it to the frosting mixture.
12. Add the frosting in spirals over each cupcake and add some grated chocolate.
13. Refrigerate and enjoy the cupcakes within 2-3 days!