Chocolate Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Thank you so much for the recipe and photo Ann!

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Cupcakes:

220g butter
150g sugar
150g brown sugar
4 eggs
230g dark chocolate
270g flour
1 teaspoon (baking soda)
150ml buttermilk
2 packs (total 16g) vanilla sugar

Frosting:

150g butter, smooth
100g brown sugar
100g cream cheese (Philadelphia), room temperature
100ml maple sirup
200g powdered sugar
2 muffin baking tins and 24 paper muffin cups

Directions:

Melt the chocolate with some cream. Cool down.
Stir the butter, both sugars and the vanilla sugar with your mixer
Add the eggs one after the other and mix it very well
Add the chocolate.
Add the flour mix and the buttermilk
Place the dough in the baking tins (fill for three-fourths.
Bake in oven for 25 min.

Frosting:

Mix the butter with the sugar well.
Add the cream cheese and maple syrup.
Add as much powdered sugar as you want - until the mix has the right consistency to daub the cupcakes with. Put the frosting in the refrigerator for 20 min.
Daub the cooled Cupcakes with the frosting.
Decorate the Cupcakes with some chocolate granules, colored granules, some chocolate cream, caramel cream, cocoa...or whatever you like and have in your kitchen.

Cheers!

Patricia

Almond and Chocolate Clusters

1/2 cup (about 3 ounces) toasted slivered almonds

24 individually wrapped caramel candies (about 6 ounces)

1 cup (about 6 ounces) bittersweet chocolate chips

4 to 6 tablespoons cream, room temperature, divided

1 cup (about 6 ounces) white chocolate chips

Special equipment: 2 mini muffin tins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly grease the mini-muffin tins with vegetable oil spray.

Place 1 teaspoon of slivered nuts in each of the muffin cups.

Unwrap the caramel candies, cut each candy into quarters and place 4 quarters (1 candy) in each of the muffin cups on top of the nuts in a single layer.

Bake in the oven until the caramel is just melted and beginning to spread, about 8 minutes.

Be careful not to over melt the caramel or it will bubble, burn, and become too hard.

Place the mini muffin tins in the refrigerator for 5 minutes to cool.

Remove the nut clusters from the tins and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the bittersweet chocolate in a double boiler over low heat.

Wisk 2 to 3 tablespoons of cream into the chocolate to slightly thin the chocolate for coating the clusters.

Dip half of the nut clusters in the bittersweet chocolate and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Return the clusters to the refrigerator to harden, about 30 minutes.

Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler over low heat.

Wisk 2 to 3 tablespoons of cream into the chocolate to slightly thin the chocolate for coating the clusters.

Dip remaining half of the nut clusters in the white chocolate and place on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet with the other chocolate-covered clusters.

Return the clusters to the refrigerator to harden, about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Patricia

Hello Chocolate Lovers....I'm Back!

Well I'm back blogging after a very long hiatus due to some health issues, and more recently busy with my jewelery business. I hope to be able to stay more current so that I can provide all of you that read my Blog all kinds of interesting goodies and items worth noting. Yes, all these months away from blogging has been a bit disheartening but hopefully things will pick up. I thank all of those who have still been reading my blog during my absence and look forward to having you all back again.
A very special Happy Fourth of July to all of my American Family and Friends and Readers. Actually the 4th happens also to be my Wedding Anniversary. This year on the 4th my husband and I will be married ten years. So hard to believe that I moved here to New Zealand from New York just ten years ago to marry my Kiwi fiancé It seems like just yesterday quite frankly.
I have been pretty busy just lately setting up my new web site for my jewelry business:


Irresistibly Ewe
At
Patricia's Beaded Treasures


I would love for you to stop by for a visit, although I do not have any jewelry uploaded as yet but hope to be ready to go within the next week or two weeks. All of my jewelry is hand-crafted personally. I will be offering beaded jewelry, beaded charms fobs, and beaded bookmarks. There will also be links for other items for offer such as Home Decor, Vintage Treasures, and Shabby-Chic. You may also have interest in auctions, and they will be available via my boutique as well. I will post to my blog to let you know when I am up and running, but feel free to have a peek at my web site itself.
Well...good to be back all.....and as always I welcome your feedback at any time. Have a good look around as there are lots of things to see and make you think on my all my blogs.


Cheers From Patricia