Contrary to what my current dress size would have you believe, I am not pregnant. However, a number of my friends have recently given birth (all to girls, funnily enough) and as far as I'm concerned birth=celebration=CAKE, right?
So, I decided to make a few little baby sized cakes, otherwise known as cupcakes, to celebrate the safe arrival of these new little people. One of my dearest friends, Lauren, gave birth to Eloise Claire on July 18th and if she's anything like her Mummy, she's going to looooove chocolate. Eloise, I therefore give you 3-chocolate cupcakes. Internet, I give you:
THE ELOISE
The cupcakes:
200 grams plain flour
150 grams caster sugar
200 grams unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
90 grams milk chocolate
2 tsp crème fraîche
Preheat your oven to 190°C and lay out some cake cases in a muffin tray.
Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl and add the sugar and baking powder. Cut the butter up into cubes and add to the dry mix. Mix together with your hands until the mixture is soft and starting to blend together a little.
Melt the chocolate (August heatwave, microwave or bain marie, whatever works for you)
Add the chocolate to the mixing bowl and stir in with a METAL spoon (a wooden one will mess everything up.)
Add the eggs and bust out the hand blender to whip it all up nicely. (Do not use a whisk!) If you've got a Kitchen Aid or other such excellent contraption, you could use this. If you'd ever seen my kitchen, you'd know why I don't have one.
Add in the crème fraîche and stir everything again with a metal spoon.
Drop about 2 dessert spoons of mixture into each cake case (the case should not be full to the top) and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
The topping:
100 grams unsalted butter (softish but not melted)
300 grams icing sugar
2 tsp dark chocolate powder (100% cocoa if you can find it)
50 grams white chocolate, shaved into flakes
50 grams dark chocolate, shaved into flakes
50 grams milk chocolate, shaved into flakes
Put the butter in a bowl and add 1/3 of the icing sugar. Beat together with a fork, adding the rest of the icing sugar as you go until you get a fluffy buttercream texture. Add in the cocoa powder and beat together some more.
Spread a layer of the buttercream on top of each cupcake and then sprinkle on the various chocolate flakes for decoration...et voilà!
* I neglected to mention that, unfortunately, Eloise lives in England. I live in France. Unfortunately again, this means that I am obliged to eat these cakes for you sweet baby, but I promise that the first birthday you have where you'll be able to eat chocolate stuff without making a ridiculous mess of your face or my floor, I'll make you these. Deal? In the mean time, you gobble up your milk, Mama will gobble up your cheeks, and I'll gobble up these little babies of my own...
* Oh, and Eloise? I SHAVED chocolate for you. Do you have any idea what that did to my knuckles, or more importantly, MY MANICURE?!
So, I decided to make a few little baby sized cakes, otherwise known as cupcakes, to celebrate the safe arrival of these new little people. One of my dearest friends, Lauren, gave birth to Eloise Claire on July 18th and if she's anything like her Mummy, she's going to looooove chocolate. Eloise, I therefore give you 3-chocolate cupcakes. Internet, I give you:
THE ELOISE
The cupcakes:
200 grams plain flour
150 grams caster sugar
200 grams unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
90 grams milk chocolate
2 tsp crème fraîche
Preheat your oven to 190°C and lay out some cake cases in a muffin tray.
Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl and add the sugar and baking powder. Cut the butter up into cubes and add to the dry mix. Mix together with your hands until the mixture is soft and starting to blend together a little.
Melt the chocolate (August heatwave, microwave or bain marie, whatever works for you)
Add the chocolate to the mixing bowl and stir in with a METAL spoon (a wooden one will mess everything up.)
Add the eggs and bust out the hand blender to whip it all up nicely. (Do not use a whisk!) If you've got a Kitchen Aid or other such excellent contraption, you could use this. If you'd ever seen my kitchen, you'd know why I don't have one.
Add in the crème fraîche and stir everything again with a metal spoon.
Drop about 2 dessert spoons of mixture into each cake case (the case should not be full to the top) and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
The topping:100 grams unsalted butter (softish but not melted)
300 grams icing sugar
2 tsp dark chocolate powder (100% cocoa if you can find it)
50 grams white chocolate, shaved into flakes
50 grams dark chocolate, shaved into flakes
50 grams milk chocolate, shaved into flakes
Put the butter in a bowl and add 1/3 of the icing sugar. Beat together with a fork, adding the rest of the icing sugar as you go until you get a fluffy buttercream texture. Add in the cocoa powder and beat together some more.
Spread a layer of the buttercream on top of each cupcake and then sprinkle on the various chocolate flakes for decoration...et voilà!
* I neglected to mention that, unfortunately, Eloise lives in England. I live in France. Unfortunately again, this means that I am obliged to eat these cakes for you sweet baby, but I promise that the first birthday you have where you'll be able to eat chocolate stuff without making a ridiculous mess of your face or my floor, I'll make you these. Deal? In the mean time, you gobble up your milk, Mama will gobble up your cheeks, and I'll gobble up these little babies of my own...
* Oh, and Eloise? I SHAVED chocolate for you. Do you have any idea what that did to my knuckles, or more importantly, MY MANICURE?!
Not only can I not wait for you to meet miss Eloise and make us this lovely treat - but won't it be fun when she'll be old enough to join us on our sushi outings! She better be good at gossip. What am I thinking, she's my kid, of course she'll be a good gossip!
RépondreSupprimerIt will be soooo great when she can join us for Sushi. Can we begin her on it early, like at 2 (she can just eat the veggie ones maybe) so that we can watch her work the chopsticks?! She'll be good at gossip because we will train her. And because she's your daughter.
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