Use a tray with straight-sided mini cups or failing that, small bun tins, for these rich, smooth treats
Ingredients
- 65g Cocoa powder
100ml Water
2 large eggs
100ml Loddon Hocus Pocus
120g Unsalted butter (softened)
270g Caster sugar
175g Self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
- Cream cheese frosting:
150g Full-fat cream cheese
40g Softened butter
80g White chocolate
½ tsp Vanilla extract
280g Sieved icing sugar
Popping candy
Method
- Set the oven to 160C
- Grease and line the mini cups with baking parchments
- Place the cocoa powder into a large bowl, boil the water and pour onto the powder – mix together until you have a smooth paste
- Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add the Hocus Pocus and the softened butter
- Add this wet mix along with the flour, sugar, baking powder and vanilla extract into the bowl with the cocoa paste and beat well until you have a smooth batter. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the bowl well as the cocoa tends to stick
- Fill the mini cups NO MORE than 2/3 full and bake for 15-20 minutes until they are risen, springy to the touch and a skewer comes out clean
- Cool on a wire rack
- Meanwhile make the cream cheese frosting by beating the cream cheese and butter together until well combined
- Melt the chocolate gently and cool slightly
- Add the butter and cream cheese mix and stir together
- Fold in the sieved icing sugar. The consistency should be pipeable.
- When the cakes are cold, use a plain ¼ inch pipe to decorate the tops with blobs of icing and then gently fluff together so it resembles beer froth!
- Finish by sprinkling a little popping candy on the top of each cake
- Store in an airtight container