Prep time:

15 min

Cook time:

25 min

Serves:

6

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

50 g butter, at room temperature
50 g caster sugar
1 medium egg, beaten
50 g self-raising flour

For the coffee glaze topping:

15 g cocoa powder
60 ml freshly made espresso coffee, or strong regular coffee
10 g good quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
35 g caster sugar
6 whole coffee beans, to decorate

Method

1. For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Cream the butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg to the mix a little at a time alternating with a spoon of the flour, to prevent the mix from curdling. Add the remaining flour and mix thoroughly.

2. Divide the mixture between 12 mini cupcake cases and bake for 10- 15 minutes until golden and a skewer comes away clean when inserted.

3. Once cool, remove the cupcakes from their paper cases and put 2 into each of the 6 espresso cups. The first one should be pushed down to the bottom of the cup and have a snug fit. The second should sit on top of the first. To get a very neat finish, it’s well worth leveling the top of the cupcakes with a sharp knife. Doing this ensures that the second cupcake doesn’t rock when sat on top of the first or rise above the rim of the cup.

4. For the coffee glaze: Carefully melt the sugar in a small pan over a medium heat until it becomes a light golden caramel. Remove from the heat. Add the cocoa powder and pinch of salt to the coffee and whisk until smooth. Pour the coffee and cocoa solution into the hot caramel with great care as it’s very likely to bubble up and spit at first. Add the finely chopped chocolate and mix until smooth.

5. Very carefully pour this glaze into the espresso cups and all over the cupcakes until they are fully submerged. The glaze should set relatively quickly with a dark shiny surface similar to the surface of a cup of coffee.

6. Once the glaze has cooled and set, place a coffee bean on top of each one and serve on saucers with a spoon on the side.

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