Black Forest CupCake Recipe Part 1

Lazy persons' Black Forest Cupcakes

Inspired by Nigella's Chocolate-Cherry Cupcakes

12 bun muffin tin

Cupcakes:

125g soft butter

100g dark chocolate, broken

300g bottled sour cherries (mine came from Slovenia and cost all of $3!)

pinch salt

2 large eggs, beaten

150g self-raising flour

Icing:

100g dark chocolate

100ml double cream

few spoonfuls cherry juice

whipped cream

12 cherries to top

Preheat oven to 180c/gas mark 4

Put the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan on the heat to melt.

When nearly completely melted, stir in the chocolate.

Leave for a moment to begin softening, then take the pan off the heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the butter and chocolate are smooth and melted.

Puree the cherries and juice in a food processor, or similar, until roughly chopped.

Now add the cherries, sguar, salt and eggs.

Stir with a wooden spoon and when is all pretty well amalgamted stir in the flour.

Scrape and pour into the muffin papers in the their tin and bake for 25 minutes.

Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before turning out.

When the cupcakes are cook, break the chocolate for the icing into little pieces and add them to the cream in a saucepan.

Bring to the boil, remove from the heat, let cool, and then whisk - electronically is much better - until thick and smooth.

Ice the cupcakes, top with a dollop of whipped cream and stand a cherry in the centre of each. Makes 12.