February - Choc and Cheesecake Cupcakes

These went down a treat! They were a lovely balance between sweet and savoury. Preheat the oven to 150^°C and line a muffin tin with 12 bun cases, or make mini ones as per the magazine image. 

Chocolate Layer

125g plain flour
150g caster sugar
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
40g cocoa powder
25g vegetable oil
1.5 tsp white wine vinegar
Pinch of salt
125ml water
25g white chocolate, grated

•  add the flour, caster sugar, bicarb, cocoa powder, vegetable oil, vinegar, pinch of salt and water - mix until smooth and then stir in the chocolate. Add a tablespoon of the mixture to each bun case.

Cheesecake Layer

200g light cream cheese

50g caster sugar

1 large egg

½ tsp vanilla extract

25g dark chocolate, grated

• add the cream cheese, caster sugar, egg and vanilla extract - mix until smooth and stir in the chocolate. Add a tablespoon of the mixture to each bun case.
• bake for 10 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean - leave to cool then decorate.
• the magazine used Dr.Oetker Designer Icing - I just used icing sugar and some cream cheese :) 

Sweet & Salty Chocolate Cake

The Hummingbird Bakery sweet and salty chocolate cake - the perfect 'celebration' chocolate cake! I have only made it once and it felt like there was a gazillion steps... however, it was worth it! I may attempt to make this again in September for my graduation. Hopefully it will be cooler then too, the icing kept melting as I iced the cake haha. :)

10 Minutes Later....

Salty Caramel (make me first)

200g caster sugar

2 tbsp golden syrup

60ml water

120ml double cream

60ml soured cream 

1 tsp sea salt

• Bring the sugar, golden syrup and water to the boil - boil for 10 minutes until its a golden colour. 
• In a separate pan, bring the double cream, soured cream and salt - remove from the heat.
• When the caramel is ready, pour the cream mixture into the caramel and stir away while it bubbles. Set it aside in a clean bowl. 

Chocolate Frosting (make me second) 

200g caster sugar

2 tbsp golden syrup

60ml water 

360ml double cream

450g dark chocolate

450g butter 

• Bring the sugar, golden syrup and water to the boil - boil for 10 minutes until its a golden colour. 
• In a separate pan, bring the double cream, soured cream and salt to the boil -  remove from the heat.
• When the caramel is ready, pour the cream mixture into the caramel and stir away while it bubbles. Set aside to cool.
• Once cooled, add the chocolate and stir to melt. Using a mixer, whisk the frosting for 10 minutes  and then add the butter and whisk until it looks nice and whipped.
• Set aside while you heat the oven and make the actual cake.

Sponge (last but not least..)

300g butter

300g caster sugar

140g soft light brown sugar

3 eggs

100g cocoa powder

160ml buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla essence

60ml water

330g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp salt 

• Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, and then add the eggs one at a time.
• In a jug stir the cocoa powder, buttermilk, water and vanilla essence into a thick paste. 
• Sift together the remaining ingredients and add this in batches to the butter and sugar, alternating with the cocoa paste until everything is fully incorporated.
• Divide the mixture between the three tins and bake for 25 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
• Once the cakes are baked and cooled - decorate!
• Top each layer with the salted caramel, follow with the chocolate frosting and add a thin layer of frosting before doing the final layer.

Oven temperature - 170 ^°C

PS - I used lots of frosting on the cake and I still had half left over, so I put it in the freezer for future use. 

PPS - The leftover salted caramel is delicious over ice-cream!