Recipe: Easy Easter Chocolate Cupcakes

These cupcakes are very easy to make and you can decorate them in whatever way you desire. For Easter, a buttercream icing topped with some mini crispy eggs makes for a simple but effective decoration.
You can also add a treat inside the cupcake if you like. We put some Lindt mini eggs inside and they formed a delicious surprise.
You can leave out the cocoa mixture for vanilla cupcakes, or make half and half (mix the batter to the point of adding the cocoa, then dollop a spoonful of the vanilla mixture into the cupcake wrappers, then add the cocoa to the rest of the mixture and top each cupcake up with chocolate batter and swirl the two flavours together.

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 190c Hot Air (Circulaire in Smeg)
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together , then add eggs one at a time.
3. Add vanilla essence, then the flour and baking powder and beat until the mixture comes together .
4. Scrape down bowl as necessary to ensure the mixture is well combined
5. In a small bowl, mix the cocoa with the boiling water and then add to the vanilla mixture.
6. Spoon into cupcake liners sitting in a muffin tin. Fill to two thirds full.
7. If adding a chocolate surprise, push a mini chocolate egg into the centre of each cupcake.
8. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until they spring back when touched.
9. Cool and decorate with buttercream icing and mini crispy eggs.