May 30, 2016

Dark Chocolate and Passion Fruit Cupcakes

Name: Dark Chocolate and Passion Fruit Cupcakes
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients: 75 grams self raising flour; 25 grams cocoa powder; 25 grams dark chocolate chunks (roughly chopped); 100 grams caster sugar; 100 grams butter; 2 large eggs; 300 grams icing sugar; 150 grams butter (softened); 1 tsp vanilla paste; 4 tbsp passion fruit pulp (roughly 6 passion fruits)

Dark Chocolate and Passion Fruit Cupcakes are the perfect balance of bittersweet chocolate and zesty passion fruit. Get the recipe below.

Time to celebrate!

Today I was baking for a very special reason. Jon and I were off to visit two of our best friends, Joey and Amy and their new born baby boy Robbie. I must say, Robbie is just the CUTEST! Now I may be slightly biased as he’s the first baby in our group of friends and I get to be god Mum when’s he’s christened. BUT, at just 9 days old he is still so teeny tiny and adorable. He has the most delicate fingers, the softest of skin and that addictive new born baby smell. Why do they smell so good?! Safe to say he needs lots of cuddling and snuggling and I was happy to oblige.

After spoiling Robbie something rotten at Amy’s baby shower back in April (see the bath time hamper I put together for him here) Jon and I wanted to take some goodies round just for the new parents. A big bottle of Prosecco was a must but we also took them so edible treats to enjoy over the next week or so. First up was a chocolate dipping set with white and milk chocolate, fruit, biscuits, marshmallows and more for them to nibble on in front of the TV when Robbie is fast asleep. We also took a big batch of dark chocolate and passion fruit cupcakes for them to share with guests over the coming week. It seems we weren’t the only ones desperate for a cuddle with the new baby.

An old favourite

When I was trying to decide what to bake I was racking my brains trying to remember all of the different foods that Amy couldn’t stand while she was pregnant. I didn’t want to find out the hard way that the pregnancy hormones hadn’t quite worn off yet. I knew chocolate was bound to go down well and decided my fool-proof dark chocolate cupcakes were a pretty good starting point for any celebratory bake.

But, I wanted these cupcakes to be quite special and unique – after all the birth of a child is pretty damn special and I wanted my edible gift to reflect that. I then recalled these dark chocolate and passion fruit cupcakes that I had posted all the way back in 2013 for another special occasion – my graduation from law school. I really don’t know where the time goes. How was that 3 years ago?! Am I REALLY a qualified lawyer? Did my friends REALLY just have a baby?! We must be growing up…

Ever since I first shared that recipe they’ve gotten a lot of love. Dark chocolate and passion fruit cupcakes aren’t the most obvious flavour combination but the bitter-sweet chocolate and intense sugar hit from the passion fruit works really, really well. It’s all about balance!

Add some passion

To be honest these moist dark chocolate cupcakes could be eaten alone and still be delicious but the classic vanilla butter cream and drizzle of passion fruit makes them extra special.

I really think that passion fruit is an underused fruit. To be honest, the only time I ever eat passion fruit is if it’s in a porn-star martini! (Surely I’m not the only one?) Once you’ve tried dark chocolate with passion fruit I guarantee you’ll be hooked and trying to find new ways to use the combination – until then you’ve got my recipe below.