With half-term coming up, why not spend some time cooking with your child? When children cook they learn lots of skills like weighing, measuring, understanding time, mixing and kneading. You could also invite some of your child’s friends over for a cooking party. Here’s a yummy chocolate cupcake which is fun to bake and decorate. You might ignite a passion for cooking that goes beyond licking a spoon.
Makes eight teddy bear cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cake
● 55g plain chocolate
● 55g butter
● 65g dark brown sugar
● 1 egg beaten
● Half tsp vanilla
● 3 tbsp sour cream
● 55g plain flour
● Half tsp baking powder
● 1 tbsp cocoa powder
For the buttercream
● 75g plain chocolate
● 75g butter
● 2 tbsp icing sugar
● Pinch of salt
For decoration
● Ready to roll white icing
● Chocolate buttons
● Chocolate M&Ms
● Black writing icing
Method
● Preheat the oven to 180˚C / 350˚F / gas mark 4.
● Line a muffin tin with eight cake cases.
● Melt the dark chocolate over a pan of hot water then allow to cool for five minutes.
● Cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy, then beat in the cooled chocolate, followed by the egg, vanilla, sour cream.
● Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder into the bowl and fold in.
● Spoon into the cake cases (about two – thirds full). Bake for about 20 minutes, until risen and firm to the touch. Cool on a wire rack.
● To make the buttercream, melt the dark chocolate over a pan of warm water, then allow to cool for five minutes.
● Beat the butter and sugar together with a pinch of salt, then beat in the cooled chocolate.
● The icing will be very soft, so refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring half-way through until firmer, but spreadable.
● Swirl the buttercream over the cakes using a palette knife.
● Make eight small balls of white icing and flatten into oval shapes.
● Place in the centre of each cupcake and attach an M&M for the nose using a little of the writing icing.
● Draw on a mouth using a tube of black writing icing and add chocolate buttons for ears and M&Ms for eyes.
● Add pupils to the eyes using blobs of the black writing icing.
Annabel Karmel has written three step-by-step cookbooks for children including the ‘Mummy and Me Cookbook’ and ‘Cook It Together’ published by Dorling Kindersley. More recipes at www.annabelkarmel.com