Saying 'I love you' with cake

JUST when you thought you’d eaten all the goodies from Christmas and there was no more huge calorie intake to be had, along comes Valentine’s Day. You therefore feel you should make an effort and give a gift to your partner.

Nothing says “I love you” like something chocolatey.

Apparently, chocolate releases endorphins and serotonin into our bloodstream, which makes us feel happy. Serotonin is also released when we meet someone and begin to fall in love, so that may explain the connection!

This recipe makes 12 cupcakes, so my advice - if you don’t want to undo all that good work at the gym after Christmas - is to either freeze most of them for another day or pass them on.

Don't put them in a Tupperware box, where they will be winking at you every time you walk past them!

Whatever you do, be kind to yourself and your partner.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s chocolate cupcakes

Makes 12 deep cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cake:

Unsalted butter, softened

Cold water – 125ml

Dark chocolate- 70% cocoa solids (I use Green and Black’s)- 60g

Eggs – 2 large

Ground almonds - 40g

Self raising flour - 100g

Light Muscovado sugar – 200g

Best quality cocoa powder (I like Green and Black’s)

Frozen raspberries - 100g

For the decoration:

Best quality cocoa powder – 2 tbsps.

Icing sugar, – 80g

Raspberry jam – warmed and strained - 110g

Prepared fondant icing: 900g chocolate, 150g each – red and white Pink food colouring

Extra fresh raspberries

Here’s what you do :

Preheat oven to 170°C/Gas Mark 4 Line 2 x 12-hole standard muffin pans with 12 paper cases. Melt butter and water in a small saucepan on a low heat, stirring until smooth. Leave to one side to cool slightly. Meanwhile, beat eggs, butter and sugar together in another medium bowl until well combined. Use a handheld electric mixer if you have one. Otherwise, it’s a wooden spoon and energetic mixing until just combined.

Sift the cocoa into the flour. Add the almonds, then the warm chocolate mixture.

Fold in the frozen raspberries gently.

Divide the mixture between the cases, filling each one 2/3 full. Smooth the tops.

Bake for about 40 mins. Check they are done by inserting a cocktail stick in the middle - the stick should come out clean, with no gooiness.

Turn cakes onto wire trays to cool. Leave to cool before icing.

To decorate:

I like to do a very simple decoration of a few extra raspberries, halved, and stuck on the cake with a dab of raspberry jam. Sieve a little icing sugar over the top of the cake before placing the fruit on top. If you want to be more swanky you can cut 3 different sized hearts and place them on the top of the cake using a dab of the jam again. Knead a couple of drops into the white fondant icing to give a pale pink heart.

Cook’s tip:

These cakes will freeze beautifully.