Rêveuse Recipe: Black Forest Gateaux Cupcakes

  When we were chosen in our family to come up with the goods for our yearly Christmas dessert, we thought long and hard about a delicious dessert that would finish off our Christmas roast meal nicely. As there are 4 other taste palettes to think about, we were thinking of something that would satisfy us all, as we can be quite picky sometimes and what sprung to mind was the utterly delicious Black Forest gateaux that is sold at Marks and Sparks. The cream is so light, and when served straight out of the fridge it becomes refreshing and surprisingly not heavy on the belly despite its rich chocolate and creamy layers. On the day, we made a whole cake rather than individual cupcakes which went down an absolute treat and was also delightful to the eyes. However, this first attempt where we made individual cupcakes would work really well for a New Years party too. 

INGREDIENTS

for the cupcakes
1 1/2 cup of plain flour
1 1/2 granulated sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 warm water
1/4 vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

filling

heavy cream (must be chilled)

1tbsp powdered sugar

3 tbsp black cherry jam (we recommend Waitrose black cherry jam or you can make your own)

1tbsp warm water

dark chocolate curls

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SERVES: 12 cupcakes*
DURATION: Approx 10 minutes

RECIPE

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Get your pan ready butter your cupcake tin.

Mix together the flour. sugar, cocoa, salt, baking soda and powder in a bowl until it's all incorporated together using an electric mixer.

Add in the eggs, buttermilk, warm water, oil and vanilla and beat for a few minutes until the texture is smooth.

Divide the mixture into the cupcake tin and bake for 35 minutes. 

*As our oven was broken during this time, we had to divide the mixture into 2 loaf tins so we could fit it into our mini electric oven which we then cut out using mini cookie cutters. This yielded less cupcakes and there was more offcuts (which we also demolished). When it is ready, place on a wire rack to cool. 

Whilst the cupcakes are cooling, whip up the cream using an electric mixer. Make sure your cream is chilled or your cream will not be light and fluffy and remain liquidy. You can also whip up your cream in another bowl that sits on top of an ice bowl to help it remain cold. After about 2 minutes and it starts to thicken, add the powdered sugar and keep on whisking until it is light and fluffy.

In a small bowl add 1 tsp of water to the black cherry jam. When your cupcakes have fully cooled, cut it in half and spread on a generous layer of the cherry jam and a spoonful of the whipped cream before sandwiching the top onto it. Decorate the top with whipped cream and chocolate curls. 

Enjoy!