I know it sounds crazy, but the delicious combination of chocolate, beetroot and Guinness, really works. It’s strange, but I believe that trying new things adds a bit of spice to your life.

Here is how you make my strange but delicious ‘Guinness Cupcakes with Chocolate and Cream Cheese Icing’;

Ingredients for the Cakes;

• 225g Caster Sugar
• 175g Plain Flour
• 75g Cocoa Powder (I like to use over 70% Cocoa Solids)
• 3 Free Range Organic Eggs
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 225g Cooked Beetroot (NOT pickled)
• 100ml Corn Oil
• 100ml Guinness or Irish Stout
• Pinch of Salt

Ingredients for the Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing;

• 25g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)
• 125g Cream Cheese (I like to use Philadelphia)
• 500g Icing Sugar
• 60g Melted Chocolate (I prefer to use over 75% cocoa solids)

Method;

• Set your oven to 180C and line a cupcake baking tray with paper cupcake liners.
• In a clean, dry bowl add your butter and beat continuously for 5 minutes until the colour changes from a yellow colour to a pale cream colour.
• Once the colour change occurs, add your caster sugar, corn oil and eggs one at a time, ensuring that each egg has been incorporated before the next addition of egg.
• In a food processor, blitz your beetroot until it becomes a smooth paste. Add your beetroot paste to your wet egg mixture, along with the Guinness and mix again.
• Now, in a separate bowl, add your flour, pinch of salt, cocoa powder and baking powder, stir with a spoon.
• Now, add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients 1/3 at a time, ensuring that each 1/3 has been well mixed together.
• Now, pour your cupcake batter into your paper cupcake liners until they are 2/3 full, this will leave enough space of the cupcakes to rise in the oven without any overspill during the cupcake baking process.
• Place your cupcakes in the oven to bake for 20 minutes, until the cupcakes spring back to the touch, or you can insert a skewer into the centre of the cupcakes and be able to remove it without any batter on it.
• Once your cupcakes are ready, remove them from the oven and leave to stand in their baking tray for 5 minutes.
• Once the 5 minutes is up, remove the cupcakes from the baking tin and leave to stand on a wire cooling rack until the cupcakes are completely cold and ready to be iced.
• Now, in a clean, dry bowl add your butter and beat continuously for 5 minutes until the colour change occurs.
• Once the butter turns from a yellow colour to a pale cream colour, add your cream cheese and beat until well incorporated.
• Now, add in your icing sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. It is important NOT to rush this step as your icing sugar will end up all over your kitchen as opposed to in your chocolate, cream cheese icing.
• Once all your icing sugar has been added, add in your melted chocolate at room temperature and mix until all of the ingredients are completely combined.
• Now, pipe your chocolate, cream cheese icing onto your Guinness cupcakes. I have used a hydrangea piping nozzle which creates a beautiful flower effect, but you can choose which ever piping technique you would like.

Serve with a pint and Guinness and you will be singing all the way home!

Hope you have enjoyed the recipe, so please share!!