Chocolate-Cherry Cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 125 g soft unsalted butter
• 150 g caster sugar
• 300 g morello cherry jam (broken into pieces)
• 100 g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• Pinch of salt
• 150 g self-raising flour

For the icing:

• 100 g dark chocolate
• 100 ml double cream
• 12 natural-coloured glacé cherries

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / Gas mark 4.
2. Put the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan on the heat to melt. When nearly melted, add the cherry jam, sugar, and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon until the butter and chocolate have completely melted. Now add the cherry jam, sugar, salt, and eggs. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and melted.
3. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and allow it to cool slightly. Sift in the self-raising flour and fold gently until just combined.
4. Divide the mixture evenly between 12 muffin papers in a muffin tin.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the icing: 6. When the cupcakes are cool, make the icing. Break the dark chocolate into a small saucepan. Add the double cream and heat gently, stirring, until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Remove from the heat and cool until thick enough to spread.

7. Spoon or pipe the icing onto the cooled cupcakes, smoothing the tops with the back of a spoon. Top each cupcake with a glacé cherry in the centre.

Enjoy these rich, moist chocolate cupcakes with a lovely cherry flavour and glossy chocolate icing!