Ingredients
- 3/4 cup self-rising flour
- 2/3 cup alkalized cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 13 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut up
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon packed light muscovado or brown sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 cup medium free-range eggs
- 3/4 cup self-rising flour
- 2/3 cup alkalized cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 13 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut up
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon packed light muscovado or brown sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 cup medium free-range eggs
- 1 cup organic sugar
- 1/2 cup fresh nutmeg, grated
- 1 cup cinnamon stick,. broken in half
- 1/4 teaspoon pure ground ancho chile powder
Preparation
Baking Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the flour cocoa, salt and butter in a large mixing bowl.
Rub between your fingers until the mixture has the consistency of breadcrumbs.
Add the sugar and mix well.
Whisk 6 tablespoons water with the cream and eggs.
Pour into the dry mixture.
Mix until smooth.
For the cupcakes, you can either use shop-bought paper cases or, for a more contemporary style, make them yourself using nonstick paper parchment; cut 6-inch squares of parchment paper, scrunch them up tight in your hand, then open them out just enough to fit into the muffin cups.
Fill each case three-quarters full with cake batter and sprinkle each with plenty of cacao nibs.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until springy to the touch.
Remove from the muffin pan and place on a wire rack to cool.
To make the sugar syrup, bring 2/3 cup water, the sugar and all the spices to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and infuse for 15 minutes.
Strain through a sieve into a liquid measuring cup.
While the cupcakes are still warm, slowly and gradually moisten each one with an even amount of syrup until glossy, allowing the syrup to soak fully into the cakes.
If serving as a plated desert, reserve some syrup to drizzle over and around each cake.
