Because you're worth it

I’ve heard it said that self control is its own reward – Bosh!
Reward yourself I say. You’ve resisted temptation for weeks and saved loads of cash, so treat yourself and the ones you love to one of these indulgent and inexpensive treats, they’re perfect for Valentines day sharing with workmates, family members or just for YOU, cos like the saying goes " You're worth it".
 

Chocolate cupcakes with Raspberry swirl frosting

These pretty cup cakes are easy to make and look really special, ideal for sharing on Valentines day.

Makes 30 + mini muffin sized cup cakes or 12-15 regular sized cup cakes

For the cupcakes  

1 ¼ cups self raising flour
½ cup sugar
150 g butter
½ cup cocoa
1/3 cup hot water
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs lightly beaten with a fork

For the Raspberry butter cream frosting

¼ cup Kremelta at room temperature - (Kremelta is vegetable shortening)
¼ cup butter at room temperature
2 cups icing sugar sifted
1 tbsp milk
a few drops Raspberry flavouring
a few drops pink colouring
Sprinkles if desired
Piping bag
large star nozzle

Pre heat the oven to 180°
Line tins with cup cake cases


Mix the cocoa and hot water together to form a paste and set aside to cool.
Place the flour, sugar and butter into the bowl of a processor or mixer, add the cooled cocoa mixture, vanilla and the lightly beaten eggs. Pulse or mix, scraping down the sides until the batter is smooth.

Place heaped teaspoons of batter into the cases, scraping it off the spoon with your finger or the tip of a knife. The cases should be around 2/3 full, resulting in nice plump cakes that don’t over spill.

Bake the cakes for 12 -15 minutes or until risen and springy. Cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting
Beat the Kremelta and butter together until fluffy, don’t skimp at this stage; allow 4 minutes for beating with an electric beater (set the timer if necessary, beating is like listening to a crying baby, it always seems longer than it actually is.)  Add the icing sugar, 1 cup at time, mixing well after each addition, then add the milk and flavouring. I use colourless flavouring and colour the icing separately.
To make the ½ pink ½ white swirls; place ½ the frosting in a separate bowl and add a few drops of colour.
Fit the nozzle into the piping bag then stand the bag in a jar or vase to keep it upright and open. Use a spatula or spoon to place one colour of frosting into one side of the bag and the other colour into the other side. I press the spatula gently against the side of the bag and scrape the frosting off the spatula, to keep it from landing in the middle. Ensure each colour goes all the way down to the nozzle so when you squeeze the bag, both colours intermingle.

To pipe swirls, start in the middle of the cup cake and go around finishing on top of where you started. If your swirls are too big you won’t have enough frosting for the whole batch so try to keep them to once around then pull up to make a point, so you have enough frosting for the whole batch. Add sprinkles or decorations before the frosting begins to harden.