Chocolate Lime Easter Nest Cupcakes

Readers, it’s Easter! For the chocolate lover like me (I know, I’m sorry, I should have mentioned the real reason for Easter first, but, this is a baking blog, so I can be excused this once…) it’s heaven.  Especially chocolate bunnies.  I love a chocolate bunny.

Anyway, I was approached about a blogging challenge, specific to Easter, earlier this week, called the Easter Bake and Make, over at The Pink Whisk.  It’s organised by Two Little Fleas.

As I've been getting really into my challenges recently, I thought I’d give this one a go too.

Tonight I've taken a twist on the traditional chocolate Easter nest cupcake and added in a twist of lime – both fresh and lime curd.  The result is a tangy, creamy chocolate delight.

These are easy to make to share with family and friends over Easter and I hope you’ll give this one a go…

Chocolate Lime Easter Nest Cupcakes

Cake Ingredients - makes 8 or 9 large cupcakes

30g Cadbury Bourneville cocoa powder

10 dessert spoons boiling hot water

90g unsalted butter, softened

90g caster sugar

60g self-raising flour

1 level teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

2 dessert spoons Mackays Lime Curd

Juice of half a lime

Zest of 1 whole lime

Decoration Ingredients

200g plain icing sugar

75g unsalted butter

75g milk chocolate

Juice of half a lime

1 bag Cadburys Mini Eggs

1 Cadburys Flake

Cake Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190c/ Fan 170c / Gas Mark 5. Line a 12 hole muffin tray with colourful cupcake cases.
2. Sift the cocoa into a large bowl; add 10 dessert spoons of boiling water and mix into a thick chocolate syrup, adding more water if you need to.
3. Grate in the zest of one lime, juice of half a lime and 2 dessert spoons Mackays Lime Curd.

   

   Add in the lime zest, juice and lime curd

4. Add the softened butter, sugar, self-raising flour, baking powder and egg. Mix with electric beaters until smooth and evenly mixed.
5. Spoon small dessert spoons of the mixture into the paper cases, filling them 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the sponge mixture has risen and the cupcakes spring back when you touch them. Insert a metal skewer – if it comes out clean, cakes are ready.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack before decorating.

   

   Cool fully before decorating

Decorating the Chocolate Lime Easter Nest Cupcakes

1. Melt 70g of good quality chocolate in a glass bowl, over a pan of barely simmering water, ensuring the water does not touch the bowl.
2. Stir until melted, then remove from heat and do not use until it’s no longer hot to the touch.
3. Beat the butter until smooth, using an electric mixer and slowly add in the icing sugar, creaming into the mix as you go, using the mixer.  I tend to taste as I go, to make sure it’s not too buttery.  You can add more icing sugar, to your taste, but make sure it’s still smooth enough to be piped (not too thick)
4. Pour in the cooled, melted chocolate and using your mixer, combine all ingredients together, until you have a smooth chocolate buttercream. Squeeze half a lime into the mix and stir to combine.

   

   Chocolate lime buttercream ready to go

5. Spoon the mix into a disposable piping bag, fitted with a nozzle. 
6. Make sure cakes are cool, then pipe around the edge of each cake twice to make a nest shape.

   

   Create the nest shape

7. Add a drop of buttercream to the middle of the cake and assemble three Mini Eggs on top of the buttercream, to look like a nest
8. Crush up a Cadburys Flake and sprinkle over the cakes, to look like twigs in a nest.
9. Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days (or eat immediately, as chocolate is a given over Easter). 

   

   Serve with afternoon tea