Chestnut and chocolate cupcakes recipe

Chestnut and chocolate cupcakes are the perfect twist on the classic cupcake recipe that we think work fabulously around Christmas time.

Christmas chocolate cupcakes are a great festive treat, incorporating nutty flavours with the sweet richness of chocolate - they'll definitely get you into the spirit of the season.

With a soft meringue chocolate buttercream and earthy chestnut sponge, these cupcakes are sure to go down a treat

Ingredients

For the choc-chestnut cakes:

• 290g chestnut puree
• 4 medium eggs
• 120g golden caster sugar
• 140g ground almonds
• ¾tsp baking powder
• 1tsp vanilla bean paste/extract

For the buttercream:

• 3 egg whites
• 225g caster sugar
• Pinch salt
• 300g unsalted butter, cubed
• 150g chocolate
• 1tsp vanilla bean paste/extract
• 10 chestnuts
• Gold sanding sugar (optional)

Method

1. 1. Roast 10 chestnuts in the oven for 15 mins at 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and leave to cool and then remove the shells.
   2. For the cakes: preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F/Gas Mark 3 and line your muffin pan with 12 paper cases.
   3. Remove the chestnut puree from the tin and mash it in a dish with a fork.
   4. Add the eggs and the sugar to a large mixing bowl and whisk until frothy.
   5. Add the mashed chestnut puree, ground almonds, baking powder and vanilla extract and whisk until just combined, don’t over beat or you will lose the air you whisked in earlier.
   6. Divide the mix between the 12 baking cases and bake for 30 mins, until golden brown on the top and when they are springy to the touch.
   For the buttercream:
   1. Melt with the chocolate in the microwave on 30 second bursts until smooth and leave to cool.
   2. Add the egg whites, salt and sugar to a large heat proof bowl and heat over a pan boiling water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the bowl. If you have a sugar thermometer the sugar will be dissolved when it gets to between 140-160°C or when it doesn’t feel gritty anymore. Be very careful as melted sugar is extremely hot
   3. When the sugar has dissolved beat with an electric beater until you have stiff peak consistency (about 8 mins). Stand mixers are good for this but not essential.
   4. Once you have stiff peaks and the bowl is cool to touch, add in the butter one cube at a time until all the butter has been mixed in. It may look like the buttercream split at one stage, this is normal, keep beating until you hear a slapping sound (about 8 mins), this means it’s ready.
   5. Add the cooled melted chocolate and vanilla and beat for around 2 mins. Make sure you scrape the bowl round with a spatula to get all the chocolate mixed in.
   6. Pipe a swirl on each cupcake using a piping bag with a Wilton 1B nozzle or spread it over the cakes with a palette knife. Add the gold sanding sugar and top with a roasted chestnut.

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