Christmas Chocolate Cupcakes with Candy Cane Sprinkles and White Chocolate Gingerbread Men

There are some peculiar people who do not like the great treats that come hand in hand with Christmas, namely mince pies, Christmas pudding and Christmas cake (my brother is one of these people). A chocolate Yule log is the usual alternative dessert served up over the festive period, but let's face it, Yule log can get pretty boring for those who don't enjoy the above mentioned Christmas goodies. So much choice for the boozed fruit eaters, so little choice for the chocolate lovers. So that is why I am stepping in with these Christmas chocolate cupcakes complete with candy cane sprinkles and white chocolate gingerbread people!

I can't believe it's Christmas in TWO DAYS GUYS TWO DAYS serious wtf-ing going on over here. The lack of snow has left me feeling somewhat cheated out of the exciting Christmas build up (or maybe the lack of excitement has more to do with being 20 and not 9 and less to do with the lack of snow.. who knows, ima go ahead and blame the snow anyway).

I have to say that despite the lack of excitement, I have been thoroughly enjoying popping a tiny chocolate into my mouth pre-breakfast for the last 23 days.

These unbelievably moist cupcakes use both melted chocolate and cocoa powder to make them extra chocolately. I'm talking these-cupcakes-could-enter-the-most-chocolatey-baked-good-contest-and-win-first-place chocolatey.Yet I can eat a whole one after a bowl of *insert plate of carbs fancy meal* and not feel positively ill. Score. If you aren't a fan of peppermint like myself (seriously WHY do people insist on putting mint and chocolate together?! After eights. NO. Mint choc chip ice cream. NO. Mint and chocolate anything no no no no nooooo!!!) fruity candy canes are pretty easy to locate so no worries there.

If you are a peppermint fan then by all means replace some of the milk in the frosting with peppermint flavouring, I have an inkling that would be delish (if you are that way inclined ofc), obviously as someone who spooned every last little crumb of peppermint candy cane off my cupcake I cannot vouch for this, but I discussed it at length with a peppermint fan who believes that peppermint flavouring in the icing would indeed be a scrumptious addition.

I am back with me ma and pa in Yorkshire *read in a proper northern accent* and I have exams in January so inevitably my blogging will be terribly unreliable because a) I can only bake here if my mum is out and b) revision revision revision revision revision AHHHH will I EVER get an actual holiday?!! So yeah, just a heads up.

But tbf I have just given you seven photographs of the scrummiest cupcakes you will ever make ;)
I do have another post that I intend to put up tomorrow but just in case it doesn't quite make it on to the blog MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!!! I hope you all have a spectacular day x x x x x

Ingredients

Makes 6 large cupcakes (this recipe doubles very easily)

40 g unsalted butter
90 g granulated sugar
30 g soft light brown sugar
100 g self-raising flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
20 g cocoa
1 egg
120 ml milk (I used semi-skimmed)
30 g plain chocolate, melted 
1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste

80 g unsalted butter, at room temp
200 g icing sugar
50 g cocoa
25 ml milk (again, I used semi-skimmed)
6 candy canes, crushed
75 g white chocolate

Directions

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees C and line a muffin pan with 6 paper cases. In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugars. In a jug whisk the egg and to that add the milk. Into the large mixing bowl add the baking powder, salt, cocoa and approx. half the flour followed by half the wet mixture. Mix briefly, then add the rest of the flour followed by the rest of the wet mixture. Add the vanilla bean paste and melted chocolate. Stir until all ingredients incorporated. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean.

To make the frosting cream together the butter and icing sugar. Add 20 ml milk (if you are using peppermint flavouring add 20 ml milk - 1 tsp + 1 tsp of peppermint flavouring/extract) to make a mixture that is 'too wet' and then bring it back to the perfect consistency by mixing in the cocoa powder. Add the remaining 5 ml of milk if you feel your icing is 'too dry' to palette knife onto your cupcakes.

Scoop as much icing as you possibly can onto your palette knife and, in true Christmas spirit, cover the cupcakes in a really thick mountain of the good stuff. Cover in crushed candy cane, and if you are lucky enough to be the proud owner of a Tala gingerbread man/candy cane chocolate mould, 75 g of melted white chocolate is enough to fill 6 of the little gingerbreads. Place the chocolate filled moulds in the fridge for an hour or so until they are solid and finally pop a little white chocolate gingerbread man on each of your Christmas chocolate cupcakes!!

Merry Christmas all!!