Yields 12
Whoever doesn’t like a good cupcake must have a sad soul indeed. Just looking at one is enough to inspire happiness even in the “grinchiest” of souls. With that established, I thought it is time to share some happiness with the world, in the form of a Sparkle Velvet Cupcake with Cheesecake Frosting. Nou toe nou – enjoy all the happiness below.
INGREDIENTS
Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ Cup Cake Flour
- ¼ Cup Cocoa Powder, Unsweetened
- ½ Tsp. Bicarbonate of Soda
- ½ Tsp Baking Powder
- 1/8 Tsp Salt
- ½ Cup Butter, Unsalted
- 3/4 Cup Sugar
- 4 Large Free-Range Eggs
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Essence
- 1 Cup Buttermilk
- 2 TBSP Red Food Colouring
- 150g Slab of White Chocolate, Chopped
- ¼ Cup Pecan Nuts (Chopped), Edible Glitter and Sprinkles for Topping
Cheesecake Topping
- 250ml Sour Cream
- 250g Cream Cheese
- ½ Cup Icing Sugar
- 2 TBSPS. Vanilla Essence
INSTRUCTIONS
#1 Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
#2 Spray your muffin tin with non-stick spray and line with cupcake casings.
#3 In a mixing bowl, sift the flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together.
#4 In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together (ideally with a paddle attachment of a stand or hand mixer – otherwise your “armies” will do). Once the mix is fluffy, add the eggs, vanilla essence, buttermilk and mix until well-combined.
#5 Now, gradually add the sifted dry ingredients in (mixing in between).
#6 Once the mix is smooth, add the red food colouring to your desired colouring using a flat spatula to mix it in. Once you are happy with the colour, add half of the chopped white chocolate and mix in until it is evenly distributed throughout (don’t over mix).
#7 Spoon in half of the mix into equal amounts in your 12 casings; add the rest of the white chocolate; then top off with the rest of the mix. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean once inserted.
#8 Remove from the muffin tin and allow to cool completely before icing.
#9 For the cheesecake frosting/icing – add all the ingredients to a bowl and whisk until they are at the desired consistency. Spoon or pipe onto the cupcakes and finish with edible glitter, chopped nuts and/or sprinkles.
Ta-da!
PS. For those extra-peops – you get something called a cupcake corer (below)– it basically sucks out the heart of the cupcake so that you can fill it with delectable fillings. So, if you like your cupcake a little more wicked, you can do this and drizzle the cheesecake filling (or any desired filling inside).
As always – your recipe looks delicious!