Chocolate Cupcake Ideas

Tired of the same old chocolate cupcakes, Have you ever thought about adding fruit such as cherries, raspberries or oranges to your cupcakes, Do you like the taste of java or espresso, There are an almost endless variety of chocolate cupcake ideas to keep things fresh and exciting at dessert time. Add this to my Recipe Box. Raspberry-filled cupcakes are made with a box of devil's food cake. Mix the cake by following the instructions on the box. Spoon it evenly into paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 1/2 full and bake until done. When cupcakes are cool, insert the end of a wooden spoon into the center and create a ½-inch deep well. Fill with raspberry jam. For topping, blend a cup of raspberries with ready-made white frosting, spread over cupcakes and garnish with fresh raspberries. For more fruit flavor options, add a can of pie cherries or 1/2-cup of orange juice to your batter. If you can’t get hold of the different colours of sugar paste icing, just buy white and then colour it with red and black food colouring. Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C, gas mark 4) and line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake cases. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add the eggs one by one mixing after each one. Sift the flour and carefully fold into the mixture. Then stir in the vanilla extract. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until they are approximately ½ full. Then bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. To decorate, roll out some of the white icing until it is about 4-5mm thick, then cut a disc about the same size as the top of the cupcake. Brush the top of the cake with some warmed apricot jam, then position the icing on top. Next roll out some of the red icing and using a flower cutter cut out some flowers. Place the flower onto a folded tea towel and use your fingers to carefully thin out the petals so that they start to curl. Place these on the top of the cupcake using water to glue it to the white icing. To finish take small pieces of black icing and roll into a ball then squash it slightly. Attach this to the centre of each poppy flower again using some water.

Cupcakes were made in the United States as early as the 19th century. At that time, cupcakes were a popular substitute for cakes because they took much less time to bake in hearth ovens. Today, cupcakes are trendy and fun. While basic flavors such as chocolate and vanilla still exist, there are hundreds of flavor variations to choose from. Bring back reminders of your last beach vacation or celebrate a luau with cupcake flavors inspired by the tropics. Add this to my Recipe Box. Lemon and orange cupcakes are refreshing and light-tasting. Grate some extra rind to add to the icing for flavor, or use a peeler to scrape strings of peel for garnishing cupcake tops. Top coconut cupcakes with seven-minute frosting or cream cheese frosting. Turn cupcakes upside down and dip icing into a bowl of shredded coconut for extra flavor and an elegant garnish. As versatile as banana bread, homey banana cupcakes can be made with added nuts or chocolate chips. Top with cream cheese icing and a dried banana chip for garnish. Make margarita cupcakes and top with lime butter cream frosting and a lime wedge for garnish or opt for strawberry daiquiri cupcakes filled with fresh strawberries and topped with whipped cream icing and a strawberry slice for garnish. Take a classic cake and turn it into cupcakes. Make pineapple upside-down cupcakes which don't even need icing.

Try festive themes for decorating cupcakes at holiday parties. For Halloween, lay out black and orange frosting, along with other colors and a variety of small candies, to make pumpkins, witches and ghosts on your cupcakes. At Christmas, use green and red frosting and candies to make reindeer, Santa Claus or Christmas trees. You can use thick sugar frosting to mold shapes and pieces, like a small Christmas tree, to add atop your cake. On Valentine's Day, make your cupcake for that special someone to trade with your valentine and enjoy together. To add a healthy aspect to cupcakes, try decorating with low-sugar and low-fat cream cheese frosting and various fruits. You can slice up strawberries, bananas and other fruits into different shapes to make things like flowers, stars or anything else creative that comes to mind. Use various berries, like blueberries and raspberries, to make a nice border, as opposed a sugary frosting border. You can even use other healthy options like protein-packed almonds or peanut butter to add some good-for-you flavor to your decorative cupcakes.

Cupcakes offer both novice and professional cake designers a miniature blank canvas to create fun or formal designs. The best part is that even if you do destroy one cupcake, you probably have a dozen more just waiting to showcase your decorations. Don't be afraid to carve away pieces of the cupcake or "glue" it back together again as long as you only use edible glues such as royal or butter cream icing. Add this to my Recipe Box. Transform your cupcakes into wild animals, monsters or your favorite fruits with edible ingredients. Once you create the proper shape with candy or baked goods, cover your creation with frosting to give it a sculpted appearance. A mini doughnut placed on top of a cupcake becomes an apple when covered with red, green or yellow frosting. A doughnut hole can be used as the head of a penguin, rubber duck, or panda bear. For example, choose a silver filigree wrapper for the cupcakes for a winter wedding. Place them on a silver platter with an elaborate doily for a liner. For a young girl's birthday, try a princess crown cupcake wrapper in pink. Use pink frosting and a princess cupcake topper. Group the cupcakes around a birthday cake which is frosted in the same color. Find a Spongebob Squarepants, Sesame Street or Scooby Doo cupcake party kit for a child's birthday party. These (among many others) come with a display setup designed just for kids who love cupcakes. The paper displays are very colorful and inviting to little ones, so your efforts to catch their attention are sure to succeed. For a large gathering, you may want to invest in a cupcake stand. They come in square or round tiers of three, four, five or six levels. Make your display of cupcakes a delight to the eye by frosting them all in different colors, or make them all alike for a solid, monochrome effect. Or, try decorating them with attractive toppers that suit the party or theme of your festive occasion. Plastic cupcake stands are available for children's birthday parties. Another possibility is a wire stand, which is shaped to hold cupcake-sized treats. See Resources for more information.

Tie a double band of brown or newspaper paper around the outside. In a large roomy baking bowl mix the currants, sultanas, raisins, peel and cherries with the flour, salt and spices. In another large bowl cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the lemon zest. Add the beaten egg to the butter mixture a little bit at a time, beating well after each addition - do not try to rush this process as the mixture could curdle. If it does curdle simply add a tbsp of flour and mix again, this should bring the mixture back together. If it doesn't come back together, don't fret, the cake will still be delicious. Carefully fold in half the flour and fruit into the egg and butter mixture, once incorporated repeat with the remaining flour and fruit. Finally add the brandy. Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared cake tin making sure there are no air pockets.

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