Halloween Chocolate & Raspberry Cupcakes

Ingredients

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes:
¾ cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda (sieved to remove any lumps)
½ tsp baking powder
1 large egg
½ cup hot strong black coffee
¼ cup each milk & plain unsweetened yoghurt
1/3 cup light olive oil
1 cup frozen raspberries

Frosting & Decorations:
175g Lewis Road Creamery salted butter, softened
2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 Tbsp milk
50g milk chocolate, melted & cooled + extra for decorating
200g white fondant
150g crushed chocolate biscuits
2 Tbsp raspberry jam
Springs of mint or thyme, for decorating

Method

• 1

  Preheat your oven to 170°C. Line a 12-hole cupcake tray with cupcake liners.

• 2

  Make cupcakes: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, caster sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt, until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, hot coffee, milk, yoghurt and oil, until combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together, until just combined and no dry spots remain. Fold raspberries through the batter. Divide batter evenly between the cupcake liners. Bake on the lower-middle oven rack for about 20-25 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean with a few moist crumbs. Set cakes aside to cool in the tins for about 10 minutes, before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

• 3

  Make icing: Add butter, confectioners’ sugar, cocoa and milk to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes, until combined. Add melted chocolate and beat again, until smooth and fluffy. Set aside until ready to use.

• 4

  Make tombstones: Roll fondant out on a clean bench dusted with icing sugar, until about 3mm thick. Cut 12 tombstone shames out of the fondant. Put some melted chocolate into a snap-lock bag, cut a small hole in the corner and pipe a ‘RIP’ onto each tombstone.

• 5

  Finish cupcakes: Spread the frosting over the top of the cupcakes in an even layer. Place the biscuit crumb into a bowl and dip the frosting into the biscuit crumb to stick. Place a tombstone on top of each cupcake, drizzle over some raspberry jam and decorate with springs of mint/thyme.