Chocolate and cherry cupcakes

Method
Prep:30min  ›  Cook:35min  ›  Ready in:1hr5min 

1. Start by preheating your oven to 160 C / Gas 2-3 and prepare two 12-hole cupcake trays with cases.
2. Put one tin of cherries in a food processor (with the syrup) and whizz up until you have a smooth purée. Drain the syrup from the second tin (reserve syrup for another use if liked), and cut the remaining cherries in half and keep until later.
3. Decant your cherry purée into a saucepan along with the dark chocolate, sugar and butter and stir over a low heat until the chocolate melts and you have a smooth mixture.
4. Pour this into a large bowl, leave to cool for 15 minutes then add the eggs, flour and the halved cherries from step two and mix together until combined. The mixture will look quite runny but don't worry, it's supposed to.
5. Divide the mixture evenly between the cupcake cases and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until they feel firm when lightly pressed.
6. When baked, leave them in the tray to cool for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack until completely cool.

To decorate:

7. Whip up a batch of dark chocolate ganache and fill a piping bag fitted with an open star nozzle (I used the Wilton 1M nozzle).
8. Top with a generous swirl of ganache and finish with a fresh cherry.

Tip

See my blog for the chocolate ganache recipe

See it on my blog

Jamie's Cookery