It’s the second to last weekend in May, and I’m finding myself challenging my baking skills more and more as the days go by – so today I’ve gone all Masterchef, with my re-mixed take on Black Forest Cupcakes.

People have been gently mentioning Black Forest Cupcakes all month, and I’m a huge fan of cherries, so it seemed like a great idea to do them. On the other hand, as a Black Forest Cake is a layered extravaganza, it was hard to envisage how to get all that excitement into a cupcake.

But I managed.

Brownie base. Morello cherry almond cake on top. Dark chocolate ganache makes a crown around Morello cherry jam and a Morello Cherry Mousse, flavoured with a little Kirsch. Fresh cherry on top. A little shaved chocolate.

Heaven.

Re-mixed Black Forest Cupcakes

makes 12

Brownie layer

ingredients

50g salted butter, melted
2 tbsp plus 1 tsp good quality cocoa
1/4 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tsp sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup flour

mixing and assembly

Line a 12 hole muffin pan with cupcake cases, spray with non-stick spray.

Stir the cocoa into the melted butter, then stir until smooth. Add vanilla, salt and sugar, stir until combined. Add the egg, stir until combined. Add the flour and stir until only just combined.

Spoon a heaped teaspoonful into each cupcake case, and smooth the mixture across the bottom.

Make the Morello Cherry Almond layer, and spoon evenly into each case – they will be about 2/3 full.

Bake the cupcakes at 175 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. The cupcakes will still be ‘whispering’ a lot but they will be done. Let cool.

While the cupcakes are cooling make the ganache and Morello Cherry Mousse.

When the ganache is cold, whip it with a wire whisk until the ganache starts to lighten and hold peaks.

Load it straight into a piping bag fitted with a 5mm round nozzle. Pipe about thirteen little peaks around the outside of the cupcakes.

Spoon a teaspoon of jam in the center of the ganache rings and carefully spread over the surface of the cupcake.

Make sure that the mousse will hold little peaks, by giving it a whip with a wire whisk (it will still be like soft cream in texture). Load it into a large piping bag fitted with a 10mm round nozzle. Handle the bag carefully because the mousse is very soft and will want to blob out of the nozzle under gravity! Pipe mounds of mousse over the jam in the center of the ganache rings. The mousse should be about 2.5cm high above the surface of the cupcake. Smooth any peaks with the back of a spoon and chill the cupcakes until the mousse is completely set.

Top each cupcake with a fresh cherry and a sprinkle of shaved chocolate.

Morello Cherry Almond layer

ingredients

65g butter, softened
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup ground almonds
3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk
680g jar of pitted morello cherries, well-drained (yields two cups of cherries)

mixing

Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Beat in the egg. Stir in the ground almonds, followed by the flour and milk. Stir until smooth. Add one cup of the cherries to the mixture and fold through. The batter is ready to use.

Chocolate Ganache

105g heavy (55% milkfat) cream
105g good quality 60% cocoa chocolate, chopped

Heat the cream until nearly boiling. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir gently until the mixture is completely smooth. Chill for about 15 or 20 minutes, until cool but not set.

Morello Cherry Mousse

ingredients

2 gelatin leaves
1 cup morello cherries
175mL heavy (55% milkfat) cream
80g sugar
37g light corn syrup
2omL water
1 egg white
1 tsp Kirsch

1/4 cup morello cherry jam, to go under the mousse

mixing

Place the gelatin leaves in a small bowl and cover with water, let sit for a few minutes to soften.

Puree the cherries in a food processor. Place half the puree in a small bowl and heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until steaming. Squeeze the water out of the gelatin leaves, and add to the hot puree, stirring until the gelatin is all dissolved. Add the rest of the puree, and chill the mixture until it starts to set.

Whisk the cream until firm peaks form. Chill.

Place the sugar, light corn syrup and water in a small saucepan and heat, swirling to dissolve the sugar, until the mixture comes to the boil. Boil until the syrup reaches 116 degrees Celsius. While the syrup is coming to the right temperature, place the egg white in a medium bowl and whisk until firm peaks form. When the syrup reaches the right temperature, with the mixer running, pour the syrup into the egg whites in a thin stream. Beat the meringue until it is thick and cool.

Fold the slightly-set cherry puree into the meringue mixture, followed by the whipped cream. The mixture will be of the same consistently as soft whipped cream. Chill for a few minutes.

These are pretty delicious and would make a great dessert!

Enjoy!xxx