Chocolate Easter Cupcakes

I had a day off and decided to throw some quick Easter cupcakes together as the following day was my once-a-month visit to the design agency I work with and I always take them cake! My fiance snaffled a few before I went and declared them to be some of the best cakes I've ever made - and I think he's right. They are really light and fluffy and quite moist, and while the frosting is sweet, the cake itself isn't particularly - it's the perfect combination and these were gorgeous. And it's my own recipe!

I used a simple three-egg chocolate recipe but I ended up doubling the quantities as I only got 9 (large) cupcakes out of the first batch and wanted a few more than that. I decorated them in various ways.

Chocolate Easter cupcakes - an original recipe by Caroline Makes

To make 9 large cupcakes, you need:
140g margarine or butter, softened - I used Stork for cakes
140g caster sugar
3 eggs
100g self-raising flour
40g cocoa powder
splash of milk
For the frosting:
150g margarine or butter, softened - I used Stork for cakes
250g icing sugar
50g cocoa powder
50g milk chocolate, melted
Mini eggs or similar to decorate

Preheat oven to 180C. Cream the margarine and sugar and beat in the eggs. Fold in the flour and the cocoa power then the milk.

Spoon into cupcake cases and bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until baked but still springy to the touch.

If you take them out of the oven when they are only just cooked, they will firm a little as they cool but remain beautifully light and fluffy.

When the cakes have cooled, beat the marg and icing sugar to make the buttercream. Beat in the cocoa powder and melted chocolate.

Using a star piping nozzle and a disposable piping bag, pipe swirls of buttercream onto each cupcake. Normally when I pipe, I start from the outside and work my way in, creating height in the centre of the cupcake. But if you start this time from the centre and pipe outwards, it looks a lot like a bird's nest. Finish the cupcake by adding a few mini chocolate eggs in the centre of the nest.

I'm sharing these with Alphabakes, hosted by myself and Ros of The More Than Occasional Baker, as the letter she has chosen this month is C.

I'm also sending this to Treat Petite, hosted by Kat the Baking Explorer and Stuart at Cakeyboi, as their theme is Easter and spring.

The theme for We Should Cocoa, hosted this month by Linzi at Lancashire Food on behalf of Choclette at Tin and Thyme, is eggs so these cupcakes fit in well.

For the same reason I'm sending this to Simply Eggcellent, hosted by Dom at Belleau Kitchen.

Easter and spring is also the theme for Tea Time Treats, hosted by Jane at the Hedgecombers and Karen at Lavender and Lovage.

And finally because it's Easter I'm sending this to the Food Year Linkup hosted by Charlotte's Lively Kitchen.