Tuesday 4 November 2014

Baking Sundays: Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes


Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes

Oreos and chocolate cake. I challenge you to find a more perfect and utterly delicious pairing. 
When I first read about chocolate Oreo cupcakes, I knew I had to give them a go. With a crunchy Oreo biscuit base, moist chocolaty cake and a creamy Oreo frosting- they sounded delicious. When Jamie and I first tried them, some time back at the beginning of last year, I was on a super strict gluten-free diet. And while I could easily make the cake gluten-free, the same couldn't be said for the Oreos. So no cupcakes for me.
This time round however I'm definitely a lot more lax when it comes to avoiding gluten- I do it when I can, but sometimes (too often these days) I throw caution to the wind and tuck in to a lovely gluten- filled treat. Such is the crazy life I lead. Having said that, I did only manage to get hold of one cupcake before my family demolished them all. Probably for the best.

I've been feeling pretty downright poorly lately. I've had a lot of problems with nausea and I often don't feel like eating. This to me is a completely new, unknown sensation. Even at my sickest, I've normally got a strong appetite and nice bar of chocolate to keep me going. So on Sunday, when I was feeling marginally better, with something of an appetite in tow, I decided it was about time I got baking. And so this super easy chocolate Oreo cupcake recipe was born.


When I've made these cupcakes before, I've stuck to a recipe I found online. However this time, not feeling up to much complicated baking, I devised my own recipe- based on the simplest chocolate cake recipe I know. Unlike my Death by Chocolate cakes, these ones are on the classic 6:3 ratio, making them super easy to make, from start to finish. They use only cocoa powder to give them their chocolaty taste and they only require items you're likely to already have stashed away somewhere.

The Oreo-ness usually comes from both the hidden cookie at the bottom and the crushed up biscuits in the icing. This time however we also added some crushed Oreo's into the cake mixture itself. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure it added much and I'm not sure I'd do it again as it produced a cake slightly denser than I would've liked- but try it for yourselves! Perhaps do half with crushed Oreos and half without (you won't need to change anything else in the recipe) and see which you prefer.



Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes
Makes 12

Cakes:
85g Unsalted butter
85g Caster Sugar.
85g Self- raising flour
3 Medium Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla extract
3 tbsp Milk
16 Oreos (4 are to add directly to the cake mix)

Icing:
100g Unsalted Butter
250g Icing sugar
30 ml Cream
Half a pack of crushed Oreos

Preheat your oven to 180°C/ 350°F/ Gas Mark 4 and line a cupcake tray with 12 cases.

Place one Oreo into each cupcake liner.
Chop your remaining Oreos into small pieces and set to one side.
In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until it reaches a light, fluffy consistency and a paler colour.
Begin to add your eggs and flour to your butter and sugar mix. Beat in the eggs one at a time, with each egg accompanied by a spoonful of your pre-measured flour- this will help prevent curdling. 
This is followed by adding all the remaining flour in one go, folding it into the mixture (in a figure of eight). If you beat it too hard, the mixture will not rise as well.
Once your mixture is fully combined, you can add in your liquid ingredients. Gently beat in the milk and vanilla until fully combined.
Finally gently stir in the Oreo pieces until fully combined.
Divide your mixture equally between the 12 cases, being careful not to over fill.
Bake your cakes in your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops bounce back and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and tray, and place on a wire rack to cool.

For the Icing:
Beat the butter in a large bowl until softened and smooth. Now add the icing sugar and continue to beat until light and creamy. From here you can add your cream, vanilla and crushed Oreos and continue beating until fully combined.
Feel free to add more icing sugar if the icing becomes too thin, or more cream if it is still to thick.
Ice your cooled cupcakes in whatever manner you so desire and feel free to decorate with whatever you have to hand!



Enjoy!
Alice
x



8 comments:

  1. Mmmm these look absolutely amazing! I'm going to have to try out some of your recipes! :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! If you do, let me know how they turn out!
      x

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  2. These look amazing! I so want to make them but none of my family like Oreos and I'd end up eating the whole batch myself! (Although that does sound like a good idea!) hehe loads of love keep up the good work, Chloe

    http://www.chloe-meandme.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1

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    Replies
    1. I always have that problem when I make red velvet cakes. But hey, you can never have too much cake, right?
      x

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  3. My mouth is literally watering right now. That is what heaven looks like!

    Hayley-Eszti // www.hayleyeszti.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. You should make the icing, it's heaven in frosting form. Seriously haha x

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  4. These look incredible!! It is always disappointing when you look at a chocolatey cake recipe and you need to have actual chocolate in the house. I love that these just need cocoa powder.
    Definitely going to have to try them out :)
    Faye
    freckles&all

    ReplyDelete