As much as a chocolate cupcake is an enjoyable treat, it is even easier to bake. Seven common ingredients like plain flour, powdered sugar, unsalted butter (milk cream), baking powder, eggs, cocoa powder and essence, in the right proportion, give you the yummy delicacy.

Ingredients

• 1 and a 1/2 Cup Plain Flour
• Cocoa Powder - 2 Teaspoons
• Baking Powder - 1 Teaspoon
• Unsalted butter - 1 Cup
• Powdered Sugar - 1 Cup
• 3 Eggs or Curds (for Vegans)
• Some butter
• Vanilla Essence

How to Make Chocolate Cupcakes - The Recipe

1. Mix in a bowl - one and a half cup plain flour, one teaspoon baking powder and two teaspoons cocoa powder. Sift the plain flour before mixing to prevent any lumps.
2. In another bowl, mix one cup of unsalted butter and one cup of powdered sugar. Add well beaten eggs, three in number, to this mixture of butter and sugar. Vegans may substitute eggs with curd. Blend this mixture well so that no lumps are visible. Add few drops of Vanilla essence or any other flavor of your choice.
3. Mix the contents of both the bowls for a smooth consistency.
4. Pick up around six cupcake baking cases. Apply some butter to the inner surface so that the cake does not stick to the surface. Fill in the cases with the mixture. Bake in the oven for approximately 15-20 minutes. Poke with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is ready. Let the cases cool for about 10 minutes. The cake is ready to be served.

The above mentioned recipe is the most basic way of preparing a chocolate cupcake. There is a variety of ways to make the cupcake more appealing and presentable. Follow the simple steps as below.

1. You can simply have two types of batters, one with the cocoa powder and one without it (the batter can be kept plain as it is or a food color can be added). You can then place the batters as layers in the cupcake cases. This would give a difference appearance to the cupcake instead of a single brown color. Moreover in the plain batter you may add some chocolate chips. When these melt they will appear as brown spots in the plain layer.
2. You may have just two layers. Lower layer of the plain batter and the upper layer of the batter with cocoa powder. Between the two layers you can add a few pieces of dark chocolate, which on melting will spread unevenly of the plain layer below.
3. Instead of layers the two types of batters can also be unevenly placed in the cases as lumps. The cake pattern would then appear like patches of two colors.
4. Another idea would be to add a layer of finely chopped fresh cherries between the plain batter layer and the cocoa powder batter layer.

Cupcake Decoration

Once the cupcake is baked and ready to be served a little decoration can make it more eye-catching. Here are some of the ways of decorating your chocolate cupcake.

1. Make a cone out of a silver foil. Place a piece of milk chocolate. Poke the pointed end into the cupcake. Spread a few chopped pieces of cherries surrounding the cone and serve.
2. Place an almond in the center of the cup cake. Spread some chocolate chips over the surface of the cupcake and serve.
3. Place a piece of dark chocolate in the center of the cupcake. Spread a layer of finely chopped dry fruits surrounding the chocolate piece. On the outer rim of the dry fruit layer, spread a layer of grated cheese.
4. Place a fresh cherry in the center of the cupcake. Spread some chocolate chips around. Spread some vanilla icing on the rim of the cupcake.

Baking a cake is fun filled. Put your heart into the recipe and you will yourself discover the imaginative cook hidden within you. Happy baking!