Indulgence - Chocolate Walnut Cupcakes

This certainly looks like indulgence, doesn't it? Well, you betcha! Chocolate walnut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting with a a touch of orange peel. All I can say is YUM YUM YUM! Made these for my sister's birthday. I used the never-fail chocolate cake recipe I learnt from an American colleague of mine when I did a stint of teaching. Super easy, super delicious! Don't even need to use a mixer (for the cake that is)

American Chocolate Cake Recipe

1. Melt 6oz(170g) butter.

2. Mix in 1/2 cup cocoa powder. Leave to cool.

3. Sift 2 cups flour, 2 tsp bicarbonate soda & 2 tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp. of salt

4. Add 2 cups of sugar (I used 3/4 cup brown sugar to reduce the sweet)

5. Add in 2 beaten eggs and mix

6. Add 2 cups of boiling water and then butter & cocoa mixture. Stir like a crazy person :) Don't worry about the lumps, they will soon disappear. (I added 1/2 cup chopped walnuts at the end)

7. Pour into cupcake liners (makes about 20 cupcakes) or into greased cake tin

8. Bake at 170C for 18 mins (45 mins for normal cake) until firm in the centre

9. Cool them on a wire rack and FROST and decorate!

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

1. Cream 4 oz butter and 8 oz cream cheese till fluffy

2. Add 1 tsp. vanilla essence and gradually add 2 cups of sifted icing sugar (to taste and consistency)

3. Add zest of one orange, mix it in

4. FROST!

and indulge... :)