After eating some delicious Amaretto Chocolates at Christmas, I have decided to replicate the flavours in cupcake form. These are chocolate cupcakes, soaked in an amaretto liqueur syrup (I used Disaronno), topped with chocolate and amaretto Swiss meringue buttercream, drizzled with a little salted caramel sauce.
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 150g caster sugar
- 150g margarine (I use stork)
- 135g self-raising flour
- 40g cocoa powder
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp baking powder
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat together until smooth. Divide the mixture between 12-14 muffin cases. Bake in the oven for about 15-18 minutes until a skewer comes out clean, then leave to cool on a wire rack.
Amaretto Syrup
- 70g caster sugar
- 70ml water
- 30ml Disaronno
Heat the water and sugar gently in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved (stirring from time to time). Once the sugar has dissolved, bring to a boil, then take off the heat. Add the Disaronno to the saucepan and stir.
Use a skewer or cocktail stick to poke holes in the top of each cupcake, then brush the syrup over all of the cupcakes whilst they are still warm. If you don’t have a pastry brush, try slowly pouring a teaspoon of the syrup over the cupcakes.
Chocolate and Amaretto Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 4 egg whites
- 200g caster sugar
- 200g unsalted butter (cubed and at room temperature)
- 100g dark chocolate (melted and cooled slightly)
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
- 5 tbsp Disaronno
Whisk the egg whites and caster sugar over a bain-marie until the mixture reaches 65-70°C. Then transfer to a stand mixer and whisk until the meringue is smooth and creates stiff peaks. Keep whisking on the lowest speed and add the butter one piece at a time. The mixture may look separated at one point but keep whisking and it will come back together and become smooth and silky. Once all the butter has been added, slowly whisk the melted chocolate and vanilla paste into the buttercream. Finally, add the Disaronno, one tablespoon at a time.
Pipe the buttercream on to each cupcake. The buttercream will be very soft when you first pipe it, however, it will firm up after a couple of hours. I topped my cupcakes with a salted caramel sauce however, these have enough Amaretto flavour in them to stand up for themselves without anything on top if you prefer. Enjoy!
