Chocolate and pear cupcakes recipe

Chocolate and pear makes a delicious combination in these chocolate and pear cupcakes. The richness of the chocolate is perfectly complemented by the sweetness of the fruit. Take this tasty pairing and give it the cupcake treatment with our exclusive recipe from our cupcake queen Victoria Threader. The rich chocolate ganache is a classic recipe to master and can be used to top many different cake recipes. The crisp pears add a lovely finish to these super-soft cakes - you won't be able to have just one! This recipe makes 14 - which is 2 more than the standard muffin trays so you'll need to bake the extra in baking cups if you have them.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 120g plain flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 30g cocoa powder
• 50g butter, room temperature
• 115g dark soft brown sugar
• 3 medium eggs, beaten
• 125ml sour cream
• 4 sweet ripe pears
• 4tbsp water
• 2tbsp caster sugar
• 1tsp vanilla extract

For the ganache

:

• 200g 50% dark chocolate, chopped
• 75ml double cream
• 100g unsalted butter
• 1tbsp golden syrup

You will also need:

• 12-hole deep muffin pan plus 2 baking cups (optional)
• 14 cupcake cases
• Vegetable peeler

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven to 160ºC/325ºF/Gas Mark 3. Line your tray with 12 cupcake cases and have 2 spare baking cups for the extra mix.
2. Peel and chop 3 of the pears and poach them in the water, caster sugar and vanilla extract until soft but still firm. Leave to cool.
3. Finely slice the other pear with a veg peeler. Using a silicone pastry brush, cover the slices in the the leftover syrup from the poached pears and pop them in the oven. Bake, on a grill pan so the juices drain into the bottom of the pan, for about 15 mins until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool and crisp.
4. Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the eggs, butter and sour cream and beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
5. Divide the mixture between the cases and then divide the diced poached pear in to the cases, pushing them down a little with your finger.
6. Bake for 25 mins or until they have risen and spring back when you lightly press the tops. Remove from the tray and leave to cool on a wire rack.
7. To make the ganache, melt your chocolate, butter, golden syrup and cream for a minute at a time on a low setting in the microwave so the chocolate doesn't burn. Stir each time and continue until your ganache is smooth and silky.
8. If the cakes have risen over the tops of the cases, just trim the tops flat. Add the ganache to the tops of the cakes and decorate with the pear crisps.

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