The Wren Kitchens & Bedrooms Blog

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Hint of Mint Cake and Cookie Friday

Written on August 3, 2009 at 11:53 am, by Gary Maddock-Greene

Week after week, we say “the cake and cookie bar is being raised here” yet every week another member of the team conjures up an even nicer slice of confectionary perfection. This week, designer Gary Maddock-Greene delivers the best mint chocolate cupcakes ever munched upon this side of East Yorkshire!

Hint of Mint...Yes, Please!

Hand crafted with homegrown mint from his garden, this is how Gary created his trademark Maddock mint-delights:

Gary’s Mint Chocolate Cupcake Frenzy

Ingredients

For the cake mixture:
4 Eggs, whisked
8 oz Stork Cake Margarine
8 oz Demerara Sugar
2 oz Cocoa
6 oz wholemeal / plain white flour mix
1 desert spoon bicarbonate soda
Fresh organic finely chopped Chocolate Mint.

For the topping:
6 oz caster Sugar
2 oz Stork Cake Margarine
1 bar of good quality dark chocolate. Use confectionary chocolate not cooking chocolate it tastes better and has more calories!

Method

The Cupcake mixture:
1. Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees c.
2. Cream the margarine and sugar together.
3. Whisk in the eggs, gradually. Get as much air into the mixture as possible and add the finely chopped mint.
4. Mix and sieve the flour and bicarbonate of soda together and gently fold in to the mixture a few spoons at a time.
5. Be careful at this stage to fold and not frantically mix. Get air into the mixture to make it fluffy and light.
6. Place paper cup cake holders into a oven cup cake tray and fill each holder with a good dollop of the mixture.
7. Carefully place the tray into the oven and cook for about 12 – 15 minutes. After 12 minutes slowly open the oven and just test that the cakes are done by gently pushing on the cake tops. If the cake ‘springs’ back they are done!. If not close the over door again for a few more minutes.
8. Be gentle with the cakes when taking them out of the oven. If you knock or bang them they can ‘fall’ and lose their springiness :o )
9. Leaver on a cooling tray to completely cool before adding the topping.

The Topping:
1. Mix the caster sugar and margarine in a bowl creaming the mixture into a soft creamy texture. You can start the caster sugar off by adding a little boiling water if you like.
2. Shave the chocolate bar into another bowl.
3. When the cakes are cool, knife dollops of icing to each cup cake, covering the tops in preparation for the chocolate. Then simply dip the cakes into the chocolate to shavings to top.

And if mint chocolate heaven in a case isn’t enough; here’s a bonus tip from Gary himself: if you want your cupcakes to look like big fat muffins, double up the bicarbonate of soda. It will make them raise more!

Death by chocolate, homemade produce, cheeky bonus cooking tips, bar raised. Roll on next week.