Dressed-up Chocolate Cupcakes

I'm over Christmas pudding and mince pies. Shortbread biscuits? Forgetaboutit. The New Year is here and chocolate is on the menu. It's party season and these suave cupcakes are dressed in their best. I've topped these sexy beasts with ganache, a smoother-than-George-Clooney mixture of dark chocolate and cream... It's like a tux for cupcakes. A moist, light under-belly topped with shiny chocolate and some BLING - party animals, that's what they are! Totally irresistible! I'm sure George would agree.


Dressed-up Chocolate Cupcakes
adapted from Joy the Baker
Makes 12

For the Cupcakes:
160g cake flour
200g caster sugar
45g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
120ml grape seed oil
1 teaspoons white vinegar
1 cup cold water

For the Ganache:
100ml cream
100g dark chocolate, chopped
Gold buttons for decoration

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper liners.

Put the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl and whisk to aerate and get rid of any lumps. Set aside

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, vanilla and vinegar and water.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and slowly whisk to combine. Do not over mix.

Pour the batter into the paper liners until they are 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cupcake comes out clean.

Allow cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn them out into a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the Ganache:

Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it is almost boiling. Turn of the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Leave for 2 minutes and then stir the chocolate into the cream until you have a lusciously smooth mixture. DO NOT taste it or you wont be able to stop until its all gone - you've been warned! Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the ganache and top with a gold button before the ganache sets. Allow 20 minutes for the ganache to set before eating... yeah, good luck with that!