Chocolate Mousse Cake

Yum yum yum.. I saw this recipe on Stuff I make, bake and love and remembered i had seen it in one of my newly aquired Green & Blacks cookery books- it was delicious. And even better it was so easy! It was a perfect way to celebrate- i'm going to university in september, yeyyy!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as i did, and thank you Lilly- your picture totally convinced me to make this, it really does taste as good as it looks!

I made 2/3rds of the mixture but that involved using 3.3 eggs so i wouldn't recommend it! I also didn't like the look the almonds dusted in the tin gave so i left them out of the recipe below! The full recipe needs a 23cm cake tin with removable base.

300g good quality dark chocolate, (I used Green & Blacks 85% cocoa solids)

275g caster sugar

165g unsalted butter

5 large free range eggs

1 heaped tbsp ground almonds

Melt the chocolate, butter and sugar together then set aside to cool slightly. In another bowl whisk the eggs and ground almonds together. Fold the eggy/almond mixture into the chocolate which should thicken pretty quickly. Pour into a 23cm buttered cake tin, and bake in a preheated oven at 180C for around 35-40 minutes. Leave to cool and decorate however you like!

Easy-peasy deliciousness

Cherry Chocolate Cupcakes

There is something about cupcakes that makes them so irresistable, even more so than cake. Too often i bite into a piece of cake that is dry and over cooked  or in some cases not cooked in the middle at all! So i like to think that cupcakes are a safer option I also worked out that they cause fewer arguments as noone can accuse anyone of getting too big a piece or cutting the cake wonkily (something i often do). So as the name of my blog suggests i think i may steer more in the cupcake direction in future.

I'm not used to failure, or complete disaster infact but i think that i would prefer both of those over disappointment. So this post is my attempt at getting over the disappoinment of my Black Forest Gateau- beautiful yet tasteless. I stayed with the chocolate cherry combination because i think it works perfectly, but i discounted any cream that you would find in a gateau. What makes these cupcakes better than any i've ever tasted is the addition of the morello cherry jam, it makes the cupcakes so wonderfully moist and dense and leaves a subtle cherry after taste.

 Nigella, you are a genious.

Recipe: adapted from How To Be a Domestic Godess

Makes 12 large cupcakes

125g unsalted butter

100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids at least)

300g morello cherry jam

1 tbsp kirsch

150g caster sugar

2 large free range eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g self raising flour

Melt the butter and chocolate together until smooth and set aside to cool slightly. In a bowl beat the eggs with the vanilla and kirsch then mix in the sugar. Add the cherry jam to the chocolate then the sugar and egg mix and stir well. Sift the flour into the chocolate cherry mix and stir with a wooden spoon until the flour is properly incorperated. Divide into 12 cupcake cases and bake at 180C for 25 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache

100g good quality dark chocolate

100g double cream

1tbsp kirsch

12 glace cherries

Heat the cream and chocolate in a pan and stir until melted then add the kirsch. Ice the cupcakes however you like and put a cherry on top of each!

Something i've always meant to try is dipping some fresh black cherries in dark chocolate and then put them on top of the cupcakes, but of course then it starts getting very expensive and time consuming!