Marshmallow and Chocolate Cupcakes

My apologies if love month isn't your thing: I haven't quite finished with all the "heartiness"...
Which is surprising seeing as it's not something we celebrate, as evidenced by a recent conversation I had with my husband:

Husband: We're not actually doing anything for Valentines are we?
Me: No.
Husband: Good (said with profound relief).

If it wasn't for the heart crafts that the children bring home from school, it would be a day that we allow to go completely un-noticed. Oh, that and the Valentines-themed cookie classes I run, of course.
 Can't forget those!

This was tea for our Valentines cookie class this year:

 Marshmallow and  Chocolate Cupcakes

 It's homemade rose-water flavoured marshmallow piped onto moist chocolate cupcakes and then dipped in chocolate and covered in sprinkles.
What a love-ly treat ;o)

Marshmallow and Chocolate Cupcakes 
Recipe by Tea, Cake & Create


Chocolate Cupcakes 

Preheat the oven to 180'C
Prepare 2x 12-hole muffin trays with cupcake cases.

Ingredients

320g cake flour
400g caster sugar
90g unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt 
180ml vegetable oil
250ml buttermilk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup boiling water
1tsp vanilla extract


Sift together all the dry ingredients. Use a hand-whisk to combine. 
Make a well in the centre, and pour in the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. 
Mix well. 
Add the boiling water. Mix until combined.  

Pour into the prepared cupcake cases - do not fill more than halfway! 
Bake at 180'C for approx 20min, or until a skewer inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. 
Remove cupcakes from muffin trays to cool. 

Ice when completely cool. 

Marshmallow
Makes enough to pipe large swirls onto 12-15 cupcakes (you can double the volumes for more cupcakes). 

Ingredients:
2 tbs gelatin
120ml cold water

400g caster sugar
120ml water
2 tbs rose water
Pink gel food colouring

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the gelatin with 120 ml cold water, and put aside.

Combine the sugar and the other 120ml water in a medium-sized heavy-based saucepan.
Cook and stir over medium-high heat until dissolved. (Brush any stray sugar granules down off the sides of the saucepan with a pastry brush dipped in water.)
Once the sugar has dissolved, allow to boil undisturbed for about 10minutes or until it reaches 115'C on a candy thermometer.

Carefully pour the sugar mixture into the gelatin and beat with the whisk attachment on low speed.
Slowly increase the mixer speed.
Add the pink food colouring and rose-water.
Continue to beat on high speed until the mixture cools down and becomes thick and fluffy.

Spoon the marshmallow into a piping bag prepared with a large plain round pastry tip (e.g. and Ateco 806).
It's a sticky job, and you don't want to try refill the piping bag, so make sure you use a bag large enough to hold all the marshmallow to begin with!

Pipe onto the cupcakes.

Allow the marshmallow to set (about 1 hour depending on ambient humidity).

Once the marshmallow is no longer sticky to touch, dip into melted chocolate and adorn with sprinkles. (Yes, you turn the cupcake upside down, marshmallow and all, and dip it into melted chocolate!)

Enjoy!

xxM