Recipe Time: Cookie Craving Cupcakes

These little things are possibly the most chocolatey things I have made in a while. Whilst I'm not the biggest fan of overly chocolate cake, I like chocolate pieces. Would you believe I used to hate chocolate cake? Those were crazy days... I don't look back on that phase very fondly. All the slices of birthday cake, all the chunks of brownie, all the gooey chocolate fudge cake that I didn't have a problem turning my nose up at... I would definitely be waddling with the weight of my chocolate belly now though if I'd have accepted all those offers, so I suppose there are upsides.

You're going to need to pop down to somewhere like Lidl to do some industrial stocking up on chocolate, okay? Fill those cupboards to the brim. I may have also bought enough so that in the event I would snack on my ingredients I would still have enough for the cake. Of course I snacked. I don't advise eating an entire bar of chocolate and also a couple of large spoonfuls of chocolate spread whilst baking. You will feel slightly sick afterwards.

What You'll Need...
150g caster sugar
150g butter/margarine
3 medium eggs - beaten together
Pinch of baking powder
2 halves of large bars of chocolate, milk and white, chopped into small pieces
225g self-raising flour, sifted

And for the buttercream...
140g butter or margarine
300g icing sugar
1 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla extract 

To top it all off...
Jar of chocolate spread, preferably one of the 'duo' ones with white and milk swirled
The other halves of the milk and white chocolate bars, also chopped
Chocolate sprinkles
Cookie pieces

Turn your oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 to preheat, and fill your cupcake mould with the cases.

Method...
1. Cream the butter and sugar together. Make sure it's nice and soft when you're done.
2. Now start beating in the egg, bit by bit. If the mix looks like it's about to curdle, pop in some of the sieved flour.
3. Now stir in the rest of the flour and baking powder gradually. 
4. Now empty the chopped chocolate into the bowl, and mix it in well.

5. Spoon the mixture into the cake cases, filling to about three quarters full.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

7. After taking them out and letting them cool, cut out the centre of each one of the cakes, keeping the leftover cake on the side. You'll need it later.

8. Using a teaspoon, put the chocolate spread into middle of each of the cakes. Be generous with your helpings! :)

9. Now for the buttercream. Make sure the butter is soft, and beat it a bit before gradually adding the icing sugar.

. 
10. If it is hard to cream the two together, start adding the milk. Then add the vanilla.
11. As messy as you like, top the cupcakes in the buttercream.
12. In whatever way you fancy, arrange the toppings on top of each cupcake. I put the cookie in the middle then went crazy with the chocolate. With the leftover cake from the middle of each cupcake, you can crumble and put on the top too.

13. Perfect! Now eat.

Hope you enjoy these guys!


Big love, xo