Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes

I always make these cupcakes when people ask me to bake for them because they are such a crowd pleaser. I originally made them for my sister to take back to university for her friends (she had to run for her train so they definitely were not looking pretty when she got them to Oxford) recently I made them for my boyfriend to take in for his last tort lecture (he was given strict instructions to not run for his train!). I decorated these cupcakes with ribbon roses and tiny little fondant icing leaves.  

To make these lovelies you will need:
150g dark chocolate
150g unsalted butter
2 eggs
150g caster sugar
50g self raising flour
100g macadamia, pecan nuts or walnuts - chopped 

This makes 16 large cupcakes 

Begin by preheating the oven to 180 degrees or gas 4.  Line your muffin tin with cupcake cases.

Melt butter and chocolate together this can either be done in the microwave or in a glass bowl suspended over a pan of boiling water. Once the butter and chocolate is melted then use a mixer to beat in the eggs, sugar and flour. Your mixture should now look like this:

Stir in the chopped nuts and fill the cupcake cases just over half full. Bake in the oven for 17 minutes, remember these are brownie cupcakes so it is okay if they are a bit gooey when they come out the oven. 

Carefully transfer them to a cooling rack and make sure they are completely cold before icing them. I used a chocolate buttercream icing and a 1M wilton icing tip to decorate my cupcakes but use whatever your favourite combination is. 

Once you've finished icing then decorate with whatever sprinkles or fondant decorations you prefer and if the cupcakes are travelling to their intended consumer by train remind the carrier not to run. As always if you give this a go then I would love to see your pictures especially if you decorate yours differently. 

Happy baking xxx