Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes
by Nigella. Featured in HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESSIntroduction
I use a sour cherry preserve (or conserve) for this, but if you're going for jam (which is sweeter), reduce the sugar in the cake a little. And if you have any Kirsch about the place, then add a splash to the batter and icing. A chocolate orange version can be made delicously simply by using marmalade.
For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
I use a sour cherry preserve (or conserve) for this, but if you're going for jam (which is sweeter), reduce the sugar in the cake a little. And if you have any Kirsch about the place, then add a splash to the batter and icing. A chocolate orange version can be made delicously simply by using marmalade.
For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
Ingredients
Makes: 12 cupcakes
For the Cupcakes
- 125 grams soft unsalted butter
- 100 grams dark chocolate (broken into pieces)
- 300 grams morello cherry jam
- 150 grams caster sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- 150 grams self-raising flour
For the Icing
- 100 grams dark chocolate
- 100 millilitres double cream
- 12 natural-coloured glace cherries
For the Cupcakes
- 9 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (broken into pieces)
- 1¼ cups morello cherry jam
- ¾ cup superfine sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- 1 cup self-rising flour
For the Icing
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 12 natural-coloured candied cherries
Method
- Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180ºC/160ºC Fan/350ºF.
- 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. Now add the cherry jam, sugar, salt and eggs. Stir with a wooden spoon and when all is pretty well amalgamated stir in the flour.
- Scrape and pour into the muffin papers in their tin and bake for 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before turning out.
- When the cupcakes are cool, 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 and then whisk — by hand or electrically — till thick and smooth. Ice the cupcakes, smoothing the tops with the back of a spoon, and stand a cherry in the centre of each.
- Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180ºC/160ºC Fan/350ºF.
- 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. Now add the cherry jam, sugar, salt and eggs. Stir with a wooden spoon and when all is pretty well amalgamated stir in the flour.
- Scrape and pour into the muffin papers in their tin and bake for 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before turning out.
- When the cupcakes are cool, 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 and then whisk — by hand or electrically — till thick and smooth. Ice the cupcakes, smoothing the tops with the back of a spoon, and stand a cherry in the centre of each.
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Show more commentsI've made these cupcakes many times before adding crushed up Dime bars to exquisite results, all of my family loved them ❤️ I've baked them as a sheet cake too it turned out perfectly well! Many thanks Nigella on another fantastic bake!
I made them as a traybake - just as good!
Tried this recipe for St Valentine's this year and thank you Nigella for sharing this fantastique recipe! The cupcakes went out delicious and succulant. I will repeat the experience again!
These are just brilliant! They taste so good and are really moist and not dry like all the other cupcakes/muffins i've tried to make in the past. I'm a bit of a disaster in the kitchen, but you can't really go wrong with these. I love them and i'll make them again. My husband sighed when i told him what i was making, but he's already had two and will be back for more tonight i'm sure. Incidentally, i used a lot less sugar and jam in mine and they're still really sweet. Couldn't find cherry jam in my local shop so used raspberry instead and it worked just fine.
I've tried this today and it was delicious and easy to make. Instead of using cherry, I used the jar of Christmas conserve ... Really lovely & taste delicious ... Thanks for the recipe...
Gorgeous. So easy to make and they turned out perfect. The topping I made from the glitzy chocolate pudding recipe and used a smashed up Dime bar for the final touch. I would definitely make these again. Nigella`s recipes are to me a guaranteed success.
to pavoneriflessivo the italian for double cream is panna liquida! ciao
Hello Nigella,my english isn't good , but double cream in Italy...what can I use ? thank you very much.
They are a delicious treat in a winter evening with the town covered with snow. Thank you Nigella.
I especially love the ease of making these - they can be made in a flash, but taste like far more effort has gone into them. They have become THE cupcake my children take for their teachers each St Valentine's Day.
These cupcakes are simply divine and I liked them so much that I came up with two variations. 1. Chocolate Orange Cupcakes, which substitutes the cherry jam and the cherry garnish for good orange marmalade and candied orange peel. White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes, which uses 90g of white chocolate, 150g of good raspberry jam and 150g frozen raspberries, and then top the cupcakes with melted white chocolate - absolutely fantastic and well worth the effort.