Boysenberries, Raspberries and Double Chocolate Cupcakes Frosted with Chocolate Ganache

Oh boy, oh boy, these are lush Cupcakes. Very rich and moist and I can quite easily eat 3-4 at one time....naughty I know!!! In this recipe some of the Cupcakes have raspberries and some have boysenberries. You can decide, or if you want you can add Blackberries instead. Purely your decision, but either way you won't be disappointed, because they are just yum!

I made the chocolate ganache first.

Chocolate Ganache
450g dark chocolate
375ml cream

I heat the cream up in a pot and then pour it over the chocolate. Then I let it stand for a couple of minutes. Then I whisk until smooth and glossy. However you can also do it the bain-marie way in which you put the cream and the chocolate into a bowl and let it stand over a pot of boiling water. And whisk until smooth and glossy. Remember make sure your ganache is well and truly cooled before you put it in the fridge to set.

Cupcake ingredients - yields approx 30
75g dark chocolate (I used chocolate drops)
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups of plain flour
1 1/2 cups of dutch cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup oil (I used Salad and Cooking oil)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
I used about 600g frozen berries

Preheat your oven to 150° degrees fan bake (please read "The Oven" tab on my blog before turning on your oven).

In a bowl sift the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt as set aside.
Put the chocolate in a bowl and add the hot coffee, let it stand for 2 minutes and then whisk it until smooth and melted.
In a mixer beat the eggs until thickened and pale yellow, then slowly add the oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and the melted chocolate/coffee mixture, mix until well blended. Then add in the sifted dry ingredients and mix until smooth, but only beat until just incorporated.
Fill into your cupcake liners, about just over 1/2 full.  Once the mixture is in the cupcake papers, you can now put the berries into the mixture. I put 2-3 into the cupcake batter.

Then bake in oven for 18 minutes (depending on your oven). Insert a baking skewer into your cupcakes and when it comes out clean thats when your cupcakes are cooked. Transfer them onto a wire rack immediately to cool.

Once cooled you can frost them with the Chocolate Ganache. I used the Wilton tip 6B.

Recipe sourced and adapted from Annie's Eats.

Feijoa Cupcakes with Creamy Vodka filling and Limey Whipped Buttercream

Well well well, you have to make these little treats! Ok, so firstly my friend Lisa said to tell you that these are adult only Cupcakes, this is because the Vodka filling is quite strong, delicious but strong. And in my first batch friends told me that they could hardly taste the feijoa, so I have added a few more feijoas to give them a bit more of a tarty bite. And also the frosting can be Vanilla if you prefer a sweetness to the Cupcake, or you can make a Lime Frosting which has a real fruity sweetness to the Cupcake. Me I'm not fussy, I love both ways.

The last thing I need to tell you before I give you the recipe is that make sure you make the Vodka filling the night before and refrigerate. It will then set perfectly and be ready to be used in the Cupcake.

Creamy Vodka Filling
395g tin of condensed milk
65ml lime juice
65ml vodka

Combine all the ingredients and mix. The mixture starts out very runny, but once it's refrigerated over night it will thicken up.

Feijoa Cupcakes - yeilds approx 30
415g plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
230g unsalted butter
330g caster sugar
4 eggs
Feijoa pulp - I used 8 feijoas
125 ml milk

Preheat your oven to 150° degrees fan bake (please read "The Oven" tab on my menu bar on the blog.
Sift the flour and baking powder and set aside.
Pulp the feijoas and set aside.
Beat the butter, sugar and 2 eggs until light and fluffy. Then add the remainder eggs one at a time, making sure you scrap down the side of the bowl after each egg.
Lastly beat in your dry ingredients alternately with the milk and feijoa pulp.

Then divide the batter into the cupcake papers, about 2/3 full.
Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes (depending on your oven).
Once your baking skewer comes out clean then you know your cupcakes are cooked. Pull them out of the oven and put immediately onto a wire rack to cool.

Now you can make your Buttercream.

Limey Whipped Buttercream
250g butter
800g icing sugar
3 Limes juiced
25ml milk approximately
2 tablespoons cream

Beat the butter for about 3-4 minutes until light and creamy. Then add half the icing sugar, the lime juice and the milk, and beat until light and creamy. Add the remainder of the icing sugar and the cream, and beat for 2-3 minutes, it should be white and creamy. You may need a little more icing sugar and or cream, depending on the consistency you require.
You can add some gel food color into the frosting if you wish.

Ok from here take a little knife and cut out little craters in the middle of your cooled cupcakes, and put a small amount of the vodka filling into the cupcake. Then once you've done that you can frost your Cupcakes. I used a wilton tip 1A. Yum yum!!

Happy baking xxx

Recipe Sourced from www.northernadvocate.co.nz, via the book "Celebration Cupcakes" by Tamara Jane.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

These are gorgeous!! For all you Peanut Butter fans out there, you are gonna love these.
If you have ever had Reece's Chocolate (American chocolate) before then these Cupcakes are like that. In New Zealand they could be compared to a Snickers Bar yum yum!!!
Also very easy to bake, and they smell amazing when they come out of the oven. Let me know when you've baked them, what you think.

Just remember when making these to make your filling first and lay it aside.

Filling Ingredients:
1 cup icing sugar
190g Peanut Butter (Smooth)
65g unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Cupcake Ingredients:
1 2/3 c plain flour
3/4 c dutch cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 c sour cream
4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
130g unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
250g cream cheese
65g unsalted butter
1/2 c peanut butter (smooth)
4 cups icing sugar

Firstly preheat your oven (remember to read my "The Oven" tab on my blog before turning on your oven). For me these made 24 cupcakes, so at this stage you can line your papers into the cupcake trays ready for baking.

Ok we are going to make our Filling first. Its real basic just put all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat the ingredients until mixed. Then roll into little balls about 1/2 the size of a golf ball and lay on baking paper until ready to use once your cupcake batter has been prepared.

So to make the Cupcake batter. In a bowl sift the following ingredients, plain flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt and set aside.
In another bowl mix together the sour cream, milk and vanilla essence and put aside.
In your mixer add the butter and the sugar and beat it all up, it will take about 2-3minutes. Then add the eggs one at a time making sure you scrap down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
Then lastly you can add your dry ingredients alternately with your wet ingredients, making sure you start and finish with the dry ingredients, I do it over 3 goes.
Ok the fun part. Put a spoonful of the cupcake batter into your cupcake liners and then put one of the peanut butter balls on top. Finally add another spoonful of batter and put the cupcakes into the oven. I baked them for 18 minutes, and when my baking skewer came out clean, I knew they were cooked.

Once the Cupcakes are cooled you can frost them.

To make the frosting. In a bowl add the cream cheese, butter and peanut butter and beat until smooth and creamy. Then slowly add the sifted icing sugar until you get the consistency and thickness you like. I used a Wilton tip 1M to frost the cupcakes and then sprinkled with grated dark chocolate shavings. Yummy!!!! Recipe sourced and adapted from Annie's Eats.

Happy Baking xxx