Melt and Mix Chocolate Cake

The lovely girls at work bought me a perfect gift for my birthday a new Chocolate cookbook!! Its called Chocolate a Fine Selection of Sweet Treats by Murdoch Books and I've been eager to try one of the beautifully laid out and photographed recipe's. As usual I spend more time trying to decide on what to bake than actually baking it. I decided on a cup cake recipe so that I could take it into work to share.

The Recipe - Melt and Mix Chocolate Cakes
Makes 12
150g unsalted butter, cubed
230g soft brown sugar
185ml freshly made espresso coffee
2 eggs, at room temperature, lightly whisked
125g self raising flour
30g plain flour
60g unsweetened cocoa
1/4 tsp bicarb of soda
icing sugar sifted for dusting

chocolate butter cream
250g icing sugar, sifted
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
60g unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp hot water

The Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. line a 12 hole standard muffin tin with paper cases.

Combine the butter, sugar and coffee in a saucepan over a  medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted  and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

Whisk the eggs into the butter mixture. In a separate bowl sift together the flours, cocoa and bicarb. Stir half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined. Add the remaining of the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Transfer the mixture to a jug and poor into the prepared tin. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer  comes out clean once inserted into the muffins. Allow the cakes to cool in the tin for 3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the chocolate butter cream, place 125g of the icing sugar in a large bowl, add the cocoa and water and beat wit electric beaters until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar and beat until the butter cream is thick.

Spread the butter over the cooled cakes with a spatula or a flat bladed knife.

the un-iced cakes will store in a airtight container for up to 5 days or up to 2 once iced.

This recipe was dead simple, I love the kind of cakes  you can make in a pan, they always turn out alight and delicious and are not a problem when beating by hand like always used to.