Baking Brownies/Fighting Winter!

I have been feeling sick since 5 am, lolling in bed and hating the idea of missing a perfectly constructive day, at work and at home. It pays to love your job and I know the feeling all too well, here I am moping about not being able to work and cook while coughing like a banshee and sneezing like I’m trapped in a peppermill! The whole day passes uneventfully, I am happy to have delivered a fair amount pending work but still lolling in bed. It was nice to be pampered with buttered toasts that I couldn’t taste and endless cups of ginger tea and instant cappuccino’s (do not buy the local ones, please, for the love of coffee don’t!). By 6 pm I am losing my mind, I can’t focus on the screen any longer and I need to get out of this now overheated bed! What I really want to do is make something I can actually taste?! Hmmmm... two answers, Goan fish curry and Fudge cupcakes! So that’s exactly what I did!

This is a recipe for my can’t-go-wrong cup-cakes, it is easy and very very yummy! Have them straight out of the oven for a truly heavenly experience and now that Delhi is colder than Shimla you need this feeling. These are specially posted for Poorna for her true and dedicated love for all things cupcake-y, try this sweetie ... you will LOVE them! And hey Poorna, this is one of the EASIEST frostings and I love making it, try it, you can’t go wrong! Since I am better with a spatula than a piping cone, my cupcakes turned out yum, homey looking and totally fudged up!

100 gms cooking chocolate, chopped, I use a local brand called Morde which is sweetened so I have adapted this recipe accordingly, you can use unsweetened chocolate but remember to use dark and not milk or the cupcakes turn out very milk chocolate-y and not fudge-y!

100 gms butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup (175 gms) granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 cup (125 grams) all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Fudge Frosting:

100 gms cooking chocolate, coarsely chopped

120 gms butter, room temperature

100 gms confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 170 degrees C, you are likely to need a dozen cupcake cups.

Melt the chopped chocolate and butter in a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Then stir (can also use a hand mixer) in the sugar. Add the vanilla and then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the flour and salt until well blended.

Evenly divide the batter between the muffin cups. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake has moist crumbs. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. You can either spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a small spatula or if piping, using a large Wilton plain, or open or closed star tip.

Chocolate Frosting: Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the chocolate and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy (about 2 -3 minutes).