Well hello! Long time no see! I’m officially back, with lots of new experiences to share with you, and of course something delicious. I wanted to do something spring-themed, and these chocolate cupcakes seemed like the perfect idea. Not too heavy or complicated, but pretty and delicate. The mascarpone frosting is pastel-pink with a hint of rose water to match the colour. I love the contrast between the rich chocolate cupcakes and the creamy rose-hued frosting. Delish. Mini eggs are Easter-obligatory of course. I may have consumed the majority of the remaining “props” after the shoot today. Just maybe.

So back to my news! I have just come back from Bordeaux, where I spent some quality time with my mum and did an amazing wine course. My boyfriend and I have started trying to work on our wine knowledge recently, which led us to deciding to do the WSET Level 2 in Wines and Spirits. Unfortunately we couldn’t do it together but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. I would highly recommend it to anyone who drinks wine and enjoys it but wants to learn more. We tasted 45, yes, 45 wines in 3 days. That was intense to say the least. But it was SO informative. I learnt so much about regions, varieties, vinification and most importantly, how to properly taste and assess wine!

The rest of the trip was wonderful too, Bordeaux is a great little city. Just the right size to explore easily, and with plenty of great options to eat and drink. We took two day tours out to see some vineyards and wineries in St Émilion and the Médoc. The weather on the first day wasn’t the best, but we got really lucky for the Médoc. The sun was out and the chateaux looked spectacular. It was really interesting to hear about the differences in technique and style between different wineries and to taste their wines. Lots of questions were asked!

I hope you all had a fabulous Easter too, and if you have any questions about the wine course or the recipe just hit me up in the comments! Enjoy the chocolate cupcakes!

Recipe

• Serves: 10 cupcakes
• Time:
  • Prep: 20 mins
  • Cook: 15 mins
  • Passive: 30 mins

    Ingredients

• cakes
  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder NOT dutch process
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 cup + 2tbsp sour cream
  • 1/3 cup neutral oil (sunflower, vegetable or canola)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp espresso powder
• frosting
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 6 oz mascarpone
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar sifted
  • 3 tsp rose water
  • few drops pink food colouring gel optional
  • handful mini eggs to decorate

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350f (180c). Line a muffin/cupcake tin with paper liners. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, salt and baking sugar into a large bowl. Briefly whisk to combine.
2. In another bowl, combine the egg, sour cream, vanilla, sugar and oil. Whisk until smooth.
3. Divide the mixture (I like an ice cream scoop) between the paper liners, ensuring they are just a little more than half full. Bake for 15 minutes in the middle of the oven, until a skewer comes out clean.
4. Leave the cakes to cool until they are at room temperature. Meanwhile, make the frosting!
5. For the frosting, whip the heavy cream, rose water, food colouring and powdered sugar until it is at the soft-peak stage. Add the mascarpone and whip again to combine. The frosting should be thick and creamy. Pipe the frosting onto the cakes as desired, and top with mini eggs.