Magic Belles

Cupcake Belle is having a fun week in her kitchen! She’s still celebrating National Cupcake Week by baking her favourite recipes from her Secret Recipe Book – and she’s sharing them with you! Today, she’s got some clever Chocolate Cut-Out Cuppies for you! Bake them and make someone happy…

Cupcake Belle’s Cut-Out Cuppies

For the chocolate cupcakes:

• 125g butter, softened
• 125g caster sugar
• 2 medium eggs, beaten
• 100g self-raising flour
• 25g cocoa powder
• 100g milk chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp milk (optional)

For the buttercream:

• 150g icing sugar
• 75g unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 tbsp water
• Drop vanilla extract or orange flavouring
• Drop orange or peach food colouring
• Star and butterfly sprinkles

Special equipment: Star and flower shaped mini cookie cutters, plastic food bag.

1. Heat the oven to gas mark 5/190ºC/375ºF and pop your cupcake cases in a cupcake tin.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until they look soft and fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
4. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the bowl, then fold them in gently.
5. Pour in the chocolate chips and stir them in so that they’re evenly distributed.
6. If the mixture feels dry, stir in some milk to make it a looser consistency.
7. Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake the cakes for 15 to 20 minutes.
8. Let the cakes cool in the tin for a few minutes, then move them to a wire rack. When the cakes are cool, put them in the fridge for an hour to firm up.
9. For the buttercream, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and beat in the butter.
10. Add a little water and a drop of vanilla extract or orange flavouring and mix until smooth.
11. Add a drop of any food colouring you like – we used peach because it looks nice with chocolate.
12. Take the cupcakes out of the fridge and press down on the top centre of each cake with a flower or star-shaped mini cookie cutter. Press down firmly, then pull the cutter up and out of the cake. If the cutter doesn’t pull the cake in the middle out, scoop it out with a small knife.
13. To fill each shape, spoon your coloured buttercream into a plastic food bag and snip off a corner at the bottom to turn it into a piping bag. Squeeze the buttercream through the hole into each cut-out shape.
14. Finish by putting sprinkles on the top – butterflies on the flowers and stars on the star.

We hope you enjoy making and eating them! Want to try more of Cupcake Belle‘s secret recipes? You’ll love her Triple Choc Chip Cupcakes and her Strawberry Heart Cupcakes!

Just so you know, National Cupcake Week supports a fantastic cause – Clic Sargent for Children with Cancer. Please make a donation if you can!