Choc Brownie Cupcakes

For those days when you can't decide between brownies or cupcakes... which for me, is every other day.


Choc Brownie Cupcakes
slightly adapted from here
Makes 10

For the Cupcakes:
170g dark chocolate, chopped
120g unsalted butter
1 tablespoons golden syrup
Pinch of fine sea salt
165g (3/4 cup) golden caster sugar
2 eggs
75g ( 1/2 cup) plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
80g (2/3 cup) coarsely chopped walnuts
Strawberries for garnish

For the Frosting:
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
115g (1/3 cup) golden syrup
120g dark chocolate, chopped

Make the Cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Line a cupcake pan with 10 paper liners. Set aside.

Put the chocolate and butter into a heat-proof bowl and suspended it over a pan of simmering water. Don't let the bowl touch the water. Stir until they are melted and smooth. Stir in the golden syrup and salt and remove the bowl from the heat. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and eggs together on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the chocolate mixture and gently beat until it is combined. Add the flour and baking powder and mix on low speed until just combined. Turn off the mixer, remove the bowl from the mixer and fold the walnuts in to the batter with a spatula.

Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling them completely. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until the tops of the cupcakes are crackled on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with a few fudgy crumbs clinging to it. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and leave them to cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the Frosting:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed for 3 - 4 minutes. Add the golden syrup and beat for another 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Set aside.

Put the chocolate into a heat-proof bowl and suspended it over a pan of simmering water. Don't let the bowl touch the water. Stir until it is melted and smooth. Add the melted chocolate to the beaten cream cheese mixture and beat for a minute or so, until completely combined.

Spoon the frosting into a large zip-lock bag. Cut a 1 cm hole in one of the corners of the bag and pipe swirls of frosting onto each cupcake. Top each cupcake with a strawberry, halving or quartering the strawberries if they are large.