doodle
Brownie-like chocolate cupcakes with nuts and Maltesers, topped with chocolate ganache.
Ingredients
free-range eggs (separated)
4 large
caster sugar
150 g / 5 oz / 1 2/3 cups
cocoa powder
3 tsp
ground almonds
225 g / 8 oz / 2 1/4 cups
baking powder
1 tsp
chopped mixed nuts (such as hazlenuts, walnuts, almonds)
50 g / 1 3/4 oz / scant 1/2 cup
Maltesers or other chocolate malted milk balls
small bag
dark chocolate (good-quality, at least 70% cocoa solids)
2 x 100 g / 3 1/2 oz bars
double cream (whipping)
200 ml / 7 fl oz
Instructions
1
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tin (pan) with cupcake cases (baking cups).
2
Step 2
Whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale and creamy. In a clean separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold into the egg yolk mixture. Sift over the cocoa and fold in with the almonds, baking powder and chopped nuts.
3
Step 3
Lightly bash half the packet of Maltesers - you want large chunks, rather than powder - and fold these into the mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cases, and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
4
Step 4
Make the ganache by putting the chocolate, still in its wrapper, onto a hard surface. Grab a rolling pin and smash the living daylights out of that chocolate. Open it all up carefully over a bowl and, hey presto! Gravel chocolate. Just make sure none of the wrapper goes in with the choc.
5
Step 5
Heat the cream in a small heavy saucepan until almost boiling, then pour over the chocolate. Leave for 30 seconds before gently stirring it all together. Carefully spoon the ganache on top of the cupcakes, and top each one with a leftover Malteser if you haven't eaten them all.
