Ingredients (serves 8)
- 150g Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar
- 250g Butter (200g for Cake and 50g for buttercream)
- 4 Medium Eggs
- 80ml Semi-Skimmed Milk (50ml for cake and 30ml for buttercream)
- 150g White Self Raising Flour
- 50g Cocoa powder
- 50g melted dark chocolate
- 125g Icing Sugar
- 50g cherry jam/compote
- 25ml Kirsch or cherry brandy
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
What you do…
- Pre-heat oven to 180oC, Gas Mark 4.
- Beat the caster sugar and 200g of the butter in a food mixer on high speed using the beater attachment for 5 minutes.
- Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then 50ml milk.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, melted chocolate and mix thoroughly.
- Spoon the mixture into cupcake moulds and bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 20 minutes until the tops of the cakes are even in colour and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool on a wire tray.
- Soften the rest of the butter in a bowl in an 850w microwave on high for 10 seconds, transfer to a food mixer and beat on high speed for 1 minute. Slowly mix in the icing sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is smooth. Add the rest of the milk & keep on whisking until light & creamy. At this point remove half and stir in the cherry jam, and with the other half stir in the kirsch and Vanilla Extract. Marble together in a bowl.
- When the cakes are cool, using a piping bag with a star nozzle – pipe the marbled buttercream in the traditional way.
- Sprinkle with shaved chocolate (you can create this effect but using a potato peeler on the side of a chocolate bar) and a dusting of icing sugar.
