My Boozy Black Forest Cupcakes..Making their first appearance this weekend!

So...Trying to decide on which type of cake or cupcake was going to appear at my very first tea party seemed like a tricky choice to begin with.....Firstly settling on my newly created version of an Oreo Cupcake. Which is just delicious.....

This seemed like a great choice, as I want to show off my fun version of a new British-American favourite....and tasty it certainly is!

However.

This didn't seem like the right *Typically British* cupcake that I wanted to appear at the table for the very first afternoon.

I wanted to choose something that would make my guests ooooooh and aaaaaaaah and dribble slightly at the thought of having to eat yet more yummy treats.....and even if they are full by this point...I want them to still want to eat them because they look so good : )

So... naturally, the decision ended very quickly, settling on my DELICIOUS Boozy black forest cupcakes with Cherry compote and Vanilla buttercream to complete this decadent recipe.

I am so proud of this recipe (It has helped me to win a Cupcake competition this year, and also helped me to raise £50 in charity money for a local organisation!) that I want to share it with my fellow bloggers......so here it is : )


And should you wish to try the real thing....There are 2 seats left at The Secluded Tea Party this coming Sunday 21st November 2010.....so contact me should you wish to put your name down to join myself and 9 other strangers across the table : ) 


Miss Sue Flays' Boozy Black Forest Cupcakes:

Makes 12

I did kind of make this up, but it seemed to work : )
I did double this recipe to make more.

For the Sponge:

115g butter, softened
115g caster sugar
175g self-raising flour
2 eggs
1 tablespoon milk ( I used Skimmed)
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
Espresso Powder (3 tsp mixed with 2 tbsp of bolied water)
Cherry Brandy
Cherry Sauce or Compote ( I bought Cherry Pie Filling from Sainsbury's)

For the Icing:

225g unsalted butter, softened (Room Temp is fine)
5ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
450g icing sugar, sifted
40ml (2.5 tbsp) cold water

Glaze Cherries for decoration (Optional)
Dark Chocolate for decoration (Optional)


1) Pre-heat the oven to 180*c and prepare a muffin/cupcake tin with cupcake cases.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (Use an electric hand-held mixer to make easy work of this), then add the eggs and whisk in, one at a time until combined. Add the milk, espresso mix and the cocoa powder and mix in with a spatula until fully combined with the mixture.
Sift in the flour and fold gently until blended with the wet mixture.

2) Divide the cake mixture between your 12 cupcake cases and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes. (Mine took nearer to 15 minutes as the cocoa moistens the mixture).
Leave them to cool on a wire rack for ten minutes, and then cut out a hole into the top of each cake, as you would a butterfly cake. (You want a deep enough hole for the filling)
When completely cool, drizzle a little cherry brandy into each hole to moisten the sponge and then with a teaspoon, spoon the cherry sauce / compote into the hole and then gently place the piece of cake on top and push firmly. (It will look funny and risen, but this will be covered up later).

3) For the butter cream, beat the butter until soft with a hand mixer. Alternatively, you can use a food processor. Gradually beat in the icing sugar and water together.
Continue beating until frosting is light and fluffy. Towards the end, add the vanilla extract.

4) Using a piping bag, pipe the butter cream over the cake in a pyramid movement (Mister Whippy style!) to cover the risen sponge.
Place a cherry on top to decorate. Grate a little Dark Chocolate over the top if you want even more decadence!

5) Enjoy....!

MISS SUE FLAY xxxx