Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Cupcakes

I made these sugar coma inducing cupcakes a few weeks ago, before lent. It is now lent, and I'm salivating as I type because I haven't nothing half as sweet as these has passed my lips in forever. 

Okay just over two weeks, but it feels like forever. If I'm honest, these bad boys are possibly a step too far - Ben and I actually shared one because there was just so much icing and our teeth were still buzzing afterwards. But sometimes that's exactly what you need. I made these to take round to Broadchurch night (any suggestions to replace the David Tennant shaped gap in my life right now would be much appreciated) so I don't have a picture of the inside, but the cake is just as marbled as the icing. I think you can just see the pattern peeking out under the icing on the picture immediately above.

Marbling the cake is really deceptively easy. Every marble recipe ever has said that, because it's true! Blob of vanilla cake mix, blob of chocolate cake mix, another blob of vanilla and then wiggle a cocktail stick through it. The two tone icing is marginally, and I mean really hardly at all, more difficult. I like to put my piping bag in a tall glass and fold it out on itself a couple of times. Then you just put vanilla icing on one side of the bag and chocolate icing on the other side, a spoonful at a time. It isn't always really neat, you are most likely to get completely covered in the two types of icing and the first one or two you pipe can often be way more of one icing than another, but then you're golden. 

Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Cupcakes

150g Butter

150g Caster Sugar

3 Eggs

175g Self Raising Flour

50ml Milk

3tbsp Cocoa Powder

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and get your cupcake cases ready.

2. Whip the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

3. Mix the eggs and the milk together.

4. Alternate adding the flour and the egg and milk mixture.

5. Put half the mix in another bowl and add the cocoa powder to one of the bowls.

6. Alternately dollop the two mixtures into your cupcake cases and then wiggle a cocktail stick through.

7. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Icing

115g Butter

225g of Full Fat Cream Cheese (I used Philadelphia)

500g Icing Sugar

1 Tbsp Milk

You need twice this much to have the amount of icing there is on the pictures - you make the icing twice for the two flavours. If you don't want quite as much icing you can make up the above, put it in two bowls and put half the vanilla and cocoa powder in.

For Vanilla - add 1 tsp vanilla extract

For Chocolate - add 60g Cocoa Powder

1. Whip the butter until light and fluffy

2. Add the cream cheese and whip until just mixed - don't over mix else it might go runny!

3. Add the icing sugar, milk and appropriate flavouring.

4. Fill your piping bag with the two flavours, one flavour on each side of the bag and pipe away!