Happy Birthday Chocolate Cupcakes

I'm in London!  I'm lucky to be staying with friends, and to celebrate a very special 27th birthday last week, I made chocolate cupcakes.

I found a really easy chocolate cake recipe.  I am not so good about converting English and American recipes back and forth, and I couldn't find the measuring equipment in the new to me kitchen.  This is a totally haphazardly prepared recipe, and the results were delicious!  The cupcakes were light, fluffy and chocolate-y, and the frosting was not too sweet and very rich!

Slapdash slaphappy cupcakes

greatly adapted from Bon Appetit, February 2010  and Martha Stewart

Makes 12 cupcakes

Takes 1 and half hours total

Cake: 

1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ounce dark chocolate (roughly 28 grams), chopped

1/4 cup boiling water

1/4 cup yoghurt, with a splash of milk added

2/3 cup a-p flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup butter (56.7 grams), softened

1 large egg

1 teaspoon bourbon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit (162.77778 degrees celsius)

Line cupcake pan with paper cups.

In a large bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa and chocolate, stirring to remove lumps from cocoa and completely melt chocolate.  Add yoghurt and whisk until smooth.

In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt together.

In yet another bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.

Pour butter/sugar mixture into chocolate and whisk together.  Slowly add dry ingredients to combine well.  Pour into cupcake cups.  The cupcake pans here are smaller than the US because they also use them to make mince pies at Christmas.  This filled out my 12 cupcake cups perfectly, but might only be enough batter for 6 to 8 American cupcakes.

Bake for 18 to 21 minutes or until a fork inserted comes out cleanly.

Let cool completely.  And then frost with the following recipe.

Chocolate Frosting

Takes 15 minutes

Makes enough for 12 cupcakes, plus a little more, just because!

1 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

4 Tbsp. butter, softened

3 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. bourbon

Sift together powdered sugar and cocoa.  Add butter and mix until combined well.  It will be really thick.  Add bourbon and milk and whisk together until smooth and pretty.  Add more milk, sugar or cocoa to your liking.

Spread onto cupcakes, stick a candle in one, sing, and eat!

 Happy Birthday John!