Cappuccino Cupcake Runny Icing

Our answer

Nigella's Cappuccino Cupcakes (from HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESS) are coffee flavoured cakes topped with a white chocolate frosting. If the frosting is a little soft it could be caused by several different factors. The type of white chocolate used is one factor and you should try to use a good quality white chocolate. White chocolate is made from cocoa butter, milk, sugar and vanilla but may have vegetable fats included as well. Try to choose a chocolate with a high proportion of cocoa butter (it may be listed as cocoa solids in the ingredients and should be around 30%) as these set more quickly than vegetable fats and will help the frosting to firm up more.

The mixture should become firmer as it cools. Beating the frosting too much will warm it up and make it runnier, so make sure the chocolate mixture has cooled to at least cool room temperature before adding the sugar and beat just enough to combine the ingredients and make a spreadable frosting. We suggest also chilling the icing for a short time to help it firm up a bit if it is soft. Refrigerate it for 15 minutes then stir the frosting and if it is still soft put it back in the fridge, checking and stirring every 5 minutes, until it is firm enough to use. You can also reduce the amount of sour cream a little and increase the amount of butter in the frosting by the same amount to help to get a firmer icing, though again you may need to refrigerate the frosting before using it. We would also suggest storing the frosted cupcakes in a cool place.