Chocolate Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes

Double Birthday! Recipe comes from The Big Book of Cupcakes: 150 Brilliantly Delicious Dreamcakes

Ingredients:

• Cupcake
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups superfine sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 3/4 cups all-flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 16 oz powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• Bar of chocolate

Directions:

1) Combine cocoa and 2 cups boiling water in a large heatproof bowl, stirring until blended and smooth.
2) Let cool.
3) Preheat the oven to 350F/176C






4) Beat butter with a mixer until creamy.









5) Add sugar slowly, beating until blended.








6) Add eggs, one at a time, beating until blended after each addition.








7) Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.









8) Add to butter mixture alternating with cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
9) Stir in vanilla extract.

 10) Place paper baking cups in cupcake pans and coat with cooking spray.









11) Spoon batter into cups, about 3-4 spoonfuls each.
12) Bake for 12-15 minutes.

13) To make the frosting, mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and salt until creamy.







14) Combine powdered sugar and cocoa.
15) Add to the cream cheese mixture alternately with cream, beginning and ending with powdered sugar mixture.
16) Beat at high speed 2 minutes or until creamy.







17) Poke a hole in the top of the cupcakes.
18) Fill the cupcake with the frosting and then frost the top.






19) Microwave the chocolate bar for 20 seconds.
20) Use a vegetable peeler to make curls.
21) Place on top of the cupcakes.

 Special Birthday Cupcakes

 

Potato Gratin With Pine Nut Crust

From: Veggie Feasts

Ingredients:

• Potatoes
• Spray oil
• 1 kg (2 lb) small waxy potatoes
• freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
• 25 g (1 oz) butter, diced
• 200 ml (7 fl oz) milk
• 200 ml (7 fl oz) double cream
• salt and black pepper
• For the pine nut crust
• 50 g (2 oz) fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
• 50 g (2 oz) pine nuts
• 25 g (1 oz) Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 1 TBSP chopped parsley

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 190C
2) Lightly oil a 1 litre (1 3/4 pint) baking dish with spray oil.
3) Peal the potatoes.







4) Cut into wafer-thin slices.









 5) Arrange the slices in overlapping layers in the prepared dish, seasoning each layer with nutmeg, salt, pepper and butter.
6) Mix the milk and cream together.






7) Pour over the potatoes.
8) Cover the dish with foil.
9) Bake for 1 hour, until the potatoes are almost tender






10) Combine the breadcrumbs, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and parsley in a bowl.








11) Remove the foil from the gratin.









12) Scatter the breadcrumb mixture over to form a crust.
13) Bake for another 25-30 minutes until golden