Mix and Match

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and a Happy New Year. My New Year's resolution to maintain my blog periodically (weekly) went out the window by the first week into January - too much things to do around the house, oh and the cyclone, and the volunteering side of things, partner getting a new job as a parmedic trainee... well it's just been busy, ok?

I am still after a soft, moist cake/muffin recipe that I can rely on but I still haven't found one. This next recipe is ok, but still not soft enough to my liking. But the cream is sensationally devine as it mixes my favourite flavours of chocolate and orange (jaffa).

Jaffa Cupcakes

Ingredients for muffins
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/4 cups cocoa
2 1/4 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup orange juice

Ingredients for cream
190gm butter
360gm icing sugar
3 drops of orange essence
zest of half an orange
1 tsp chocolate emulco
2 drops of red colouring
4 drops of yellow colouring

Method

1. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarbonate soda and salt into a mixing bowl.
2. Add sugar into the dry ingredients.
3. Combine the rest of the ingredients (the wet ingredients) together.
4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
5. Bake in a preheated oven for 25 mins at 170 degree Celcius.
6. Remove from oven and let stand until the cupcake cools.
   
7. Cream the soft butter until slightly pale and creamy.
8. Sift the icing sugar into the butter and continue creaming until texture is soft, pale and creamy.
9. Divide the cream in half.
10. Add the chocolate emulco to one half of the cream mixture.
11. Add the colouring and orange essence to the remaining half of the cream mixture.
12. Place a portion of each mixture onto one side of the piping bag, so that the orange flavoured cream is on one half of the piping bag and the chocolate flavoured cream is on the other half of the piping bag.
13. Fit the piping bag with a star nozzle and swirl it on top of the cooled cupcake.