This weekend just gone, we celebrated our engagement for the second time in as many months (with a big group of people, that is, I can’t even begin to count the number of times we’ve raised a glass in smaller circles), inviting just over sixty of our favourite friends to drink, dance and generally make merry whilst using our upcoming wedding as the perfect excuse to do so.

Where the family party involved an incredible amount of food and quite a bit of alcohol, it’s fair to say that the celebration with friends was a little more focused on the booze. However it wouldn’t be a proper celebration without some sort of cake (in my eyes anyway) and after a poll of all the people coming saw near unanimous requests for some sort of chocolate/peanut butter combination, these cupcakes were born.

Delivering the cupcakes to the party wasn’t without its problems. I didn’t have any containers big enough to house the sixty or so cakes I’d made, so we decided to take the trays on our knees in the taxi. Suffice to say a couple of cakes slid off onto the pavement, another onto the taxi floor (the driver was surprisingly cheery about it, perhaps caught up in our unashamedly overexcited engagement mood) and several smears of peanut butter frosting ended up on coats and sleeves as we made our way to the party.

There may have been some minor delivery problems, but it was absolutely worth going to the effort of making them. The cupcakes added to the sense of occasion, induced smiles on the faces of everyone who ate them and I’m pretty sure my tactical consumption of a second cake late into the evening is what prevented me from what could have been the hangover from hell on Sunday.

What more could you ask for in a cake?

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

The instructions below look quite long but the cupcakes and frosting are both very simple recipes. The homemade engagement rings are a little more involved but entirely optional. You can also make them well in advance and store in an airtight container until you want to use them.

Ingredients:

For the engagement rings
Modelling chocolate
Edible gold and silver lustre dust

For the cupcakes
125g plain dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids minimum
165ml full fat milk
285g light brown sugar
105g unsalted butter, softened
2 large free range eggs, beaten
180g plain flour
Pinch salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
8g cocoa powder

For the frosting
75ml double cream
195g icing sugar, sifted
165g unsalted butter, softened
125g smooth peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch fleur de sel

Method:

For the engagement rings
Work the modelling chocolate until smooth and pliant. Divide into two thirds and one third.

Take a tiny pinch of the third portion and roll into a ball. Pinch the end between your finger and thumb, flattening the top of the ball with your other finger to form a rough diamond shape. Repeat with the full quantity.

Roll the two thirds portion into a long thin strip. Cut approx. 5cm long strips.

Take one diamond shape and one strip. Shape the strip into a circle, placing the diamond shape in the middle then press together. Use a small, blunt ended stick to smooth the diamond shape to the strip. Repeat with all the remaining modelling chocolate.

Using a paintbrush, dust each ring with gold dust then paint the diamonds with silver lustre dust. Set aside until ready to use (I made them a week in advance).

For the cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C. Line two muffin trays with 24 large cupcake cases.

Gently melt the chocolate, milk and 140g of the sugar in a small saucepan then bring to the boil whilst stirring. Remove from the heat.

In a medium sized bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Slowly stir in the beaten eggs until combined.

Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder and salt together then add to the batter in two batches, slowly mixing until combined.

Slowly pour the hot chocolate into the batter and mix, scraping down the sides until well combined. Divide the batter between your prepared cupcake cases, filling only two thirds full.

Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until the tops spring back and the edges have shrunk away from the side. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and leave for a couple of minutes in the trays before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting
Combine the double cream and 10g icing sugar in a large clean bowl and whisk until light, fluffy, stiff peaks form. Be careful not to overmix.

In an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and peanut butter.  (You could also do this with a wooden spoon and a bit of elbow grease.) Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 45 seconds.

Add the remaining icing sugar to the bowl a little at a time, mixing slowly so it doesn’t all billow up in the air. Once loosely combined, turn the speed to full and beat for 2 minutes.

Add the vanilla extract and salt, and continue to whip on high speed until very fluffy, about 4-5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Using a large spatula or metal spoon, gently fold one third of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture before adding the rest and folding carefully to combine.