Junior Mints Chocolate Cupcakes

Is there anything better than a deliciously fudgy chocolate cupcake? There is! A cupcake with a fantastically minty Junior mints centre. When it comes to Junior Mints, Perth residents may not be aware of this tasty treat. They are a popular cinema snack in the United States, but they are available in Australia and make the basis for these fantastic cupcakes.

Ingredients:

To Make 12 Junior Mint Chocolate Cupcakes you will need;

100 grams of dark brown sugar

150 grams of caster sugar

125 grams of unsalted softened butter

225 grams of sifted plain flour

50 grams of sifted cocoa powder (good quality works best)

Two eggs

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

Two teaspoons of vanilla extract

250 milliliters of boiling water

2 x 100 gram boxes of Junior Mints

150 grams of chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180ºc and line your muffin tin with paper cases.

Place the dark brown sugar and cocoa in a heatproof bowl or jug and add in the boiling water. Whisk everything together before setting aside for later.

Cream the caster sugar and butter together until fluffy and pale. Add the vanilla extract and mix in before beating in one egg at a time between spoonfuls of flour. Add the remaining flour, bicarb and baking powder. Fold in the cocoa liquid, ensuring that everything is well combined.

Spoon your batter into the cupcake cases until they are half to three quarters full. Press two or three of the junior mints into the centre of each cupcake. This is a little messy, but it gives you a good excuse to lick your fingers.

Bake for approximately ten to fifteen minutes. Allow your cupcakes to go cold on a wire rack before you decorate. 

Delightfully Devilish Frosting:

No cupcake is complete without frosting, and if you are going to have a decadently delicious chocolate cupcake, it needs delightfully devilish frosting. You will need;

30 grams of dark brown sugar

300 grams of good quality finely chopped dark chocolate

175 grams of unsalted butter

125 milliliters of water.

Put the water, butter and brown sugar in a heavy bottomed pan and melt over a low heat. When it has all melted together, remove from the heat and add in the chocolate. Whisk the mixture until it is glossy and smooth. Set the icing aside for at least half and hour, whisking occasionally. Pipe or spread the icing over the cupcakes and if you are feeling particularly decadent, you could even top the icing with another Junior Mint. Just be sure to do this before the icing has time to set.

These cupcakes are deliciously rich, with a burst of rich chocolate and mint in the centre. Just be sure to bake plenty as they are sure to be a hit with adults and children alike. If you would like to try this recipe and need Junior Mints, Perth based Funworks can help. We have a wide selection of sweets and candy including Junior Mints. 

Fizzy Cola Bottle Chocolate Cupcakes

While you may have heard of cola being used to marinade meat, you may not be aware of the incredible flavour combination of chocolate and fizzy cola bottles. If you’re still not convinced, you need to give these fizzy cola bottle chocolate cupcakes a try.

Ingredients for 6 Large Cupcakes or 12 Small Cupcakes:

100 grams of sifted plain flour

125 grams golden caster sugar

½ teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

One small egg

60 millilitres of buttermilk

One tablespoon cocoa powder

60 grams unsalted butter

One teaspoon vanilla extract

75 millilitres of cola

Method:

Preheat your oven to 175ºc and line your muffin tin.  Combine the sugar, salt, baking powder and flour in a bowl. In a jug whisk together the buttermilk, vanilla extract and egg. In a heavy bottomed pan, melt the cola, butter and cocoa until fully incorporated. Mix this into the flour mixture alternatively with the buttermilk. Stir well until all the ingredients are well combined.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin liners and bake. Larger cupcakes will need approximately 15 minutes while smaller ones are likely to need less than 10. The cupcakes should look golden brown, and you should be able to insert a skewer and have it come out clean. Allow your cupcakes to go cold before decorating.

Decorating Your Cupcakes:

One of the most enjoyable aspects of making cupcakes is letting your creativity go a little wild with the decorating. While these cupcakes are delicious undecorated, they can be truly spectacular with a little adornment. With the fizzy cola bottle frosting and some extra decorative touches, these cupcakes will be a showstopper at any event.

To Make Fizzy Cola Bottle:

You will need;

200 grams of sifted icing sugar

60 grams of softened unsalted butter

One tablespoon of cola syrup

One tablespoon of milk

Fizzy cola bottles for decoration

Beat the butter until it is smooth before mixing in the icing sugar. Be sure to do this a little at a time to avoid an icing sugar cloud in your kitchen. Add in the syrup and milk, mixing well. Beat the frosting until it becomes fluffy and light. Pipe swirls of the icing on the cupcakes, dotting the fizzy cola bottles on top. If you want extra fizz in your icing, you could also stir in some popping candy. However, this will lose its pop, so this is best used if you are icing only an hour or two before serving.

These cupcakes make a fantastic birthday party treat or can be used for hen nights, weddings or any other special occasion. Alternatively, if you just fancy a sweet treat, they are perfect for keeping on hand. The finished cupcakes can be kept in a cool temperature for several days. However, you could keep the un-iced cakes in an airtight tin for up to a week before icing as and when needed.

If you can’t get enough of fizzy cola bottles, you should speak to us. At Funworks, we make it easy to buy fizzy cola bottles or any of your favourite sweets. We have a massive selection of sweets, candy and other naughty treats. Our team can also arrange bulk orders so that you can cater for any special occasion. 

Aniseed Ring Cakes

If you love aniseed rings and want to use these fantastic sweets as an inspiration for your baking, these anise ring cakes are the perfect option for you. These crunchy cakes are almost cookie like and have the delicious aniseed flavour of your favourite sweet.

While they don’t need any adornment as they look fantastic, if you are feeling particularly indulgent, you could decorate with chocolate aniseed rings or sugar aniseed rings according to your preference. The combination of dark chocolate rings with these cakes is particularly tasty.

Ingredients:

200 grams flour

Three tablespoons of olive oil (extra virgin works best)

50 grams of caster sugar

One teaspoon anise seeds

50 millilitres of white wine (this could be substituted for apple juice if you prefer to use no alcohol.

Method:

Preheat your oven to 160ºc and line baking sheets with silicone sheets or baking parchment.

Combine the sugar and flour and mix in the oil and white wine. Knead the mixture until it is smooth. Sprinkle the anise seeds over the dough and work in so they are evenly distributed. Divide the dough into three and roll each portion into a rope shape. Wrap the rope into small rings, using your finger to shape them. Press the ends together to secure each ring. Repeat until all of your dough has been shaped.

Arrange the rings on your baking sheet and bake for approximately ten minutes. The finished rings should be crunchy and a golden brown colour.

Serving Suggestions:

Baked as per the recipe, these cakes make an excellent dinner party dessert served with coffee. They are not overly sweet, so they are particularly popular with diners who don’t particularly like sickly sweet desserts. You can also use them served with ice cream. They make an excellent complement to a rich vanilla ice cream, but you could experiment with different ice cream flavours to see which you prefer. Just remember that anise is a distinct flavour that may not work well with some traditional ice cream flavours. However, you will find that the anise flavour elevates the intensity of chocolate ice cream, making it a truly dreamy dessert.

If you are making them for the whole family, using aniseed rings to decorate can make them have even more appeal. You can press chocolate aniseed rings into the dough before baking to create a pattern. Since the aniseed rings will be baked, they will not stay in a ring shape, but they can create an interesting texture on each of the cakes. If you use sugar aniseed rings, the sugar and sweet will melt, creating an interesting contrast of textures on the top of each cake.

If you love aniseed rings, you should speak to us. At Funworks, we have an amazing selection of traditional sweets including chocolate aniseed rings and sugar aniseed rings. We can also arrange for bulk orders aniseed rings, so you have plenty to snack on and use in your recipe creations. Our team are here to answer any queries and help you to find the perfect sweet treat for any special occasion.

Rainbow Strap Cookies

If you love TNT Rainbow Straps, these cookies are likely to be a real hit. The delicious snacks are part cookie and part cake, making them totally delicious. You can use colours of your choice to complement any theme. If you want to be true to TNT sour straps, you can even match the colours to complete the overall look. While they may appear to be a little fiddly to make, they are well worth a little extra effort.

Ingredients:

225 grams of unsalted room temperature butter

Three eggs, separated

130 grams of sugar

150 grams of almond paste

180 grams of self-raising flour

½ teaspoon salt

Food colouring to suit your preferences, (at least two colours)

100 grams of melted chocolate

One tablespoon of marmalade or jam

TNT Rainbow Sour Straps for decoration

Method:

Line three rectangular cake tin with baking parchment or foil. The tins will need to be approximately 12 centimetres x 10 centimetres. Preheat the oven to 180ºc.

Whisk your egg whites until they form soft peaks. Slowly beat in 30 grams of the sugar and form stiff peaks. Allow the egg whites to chill while you prepare the remaining mixture. Use a paddle attachment to beat the remaining sugar and almost paste until fully incorporated. Add in the butter and beat the mixture until fluffy and light. Add in the egg yolks, salt and flour and mix well. Fold in the chilled egg whites.

Divide the mixture into separate bowls for each colour in the cookie. Three colours provide a good combo, and you can leave one bowl uncoloured for a white stripe to the cookie. If you want to make more layers, you will need additional cake tins and may need to increase the recipe quantities, but the cookies can be made in a similar way. Use your food colouring to create the desired colour for each stripe in the cookie. Put each batter into a separate cake tin and bake for approximately eight to ten minutes. Allow all the cakes to cool in their pans.

Assembling the Cookies:

Spread a layer of marmalade on the top of one of the cakes. Use the baking parchment or foil to lift another cake out of the tin and invert it over the marmalade covered layer. Cover the top of this layer with the remaining marmalade and invert the remaining cake on top. Cover the cake with foil and place a rectangular cake tin on top of the cake. Weigh the tin down with cans to allow the layers to compress. The cake should be chilled for a minimum of four hours.

After the cake has compressed, remove the weighted tin and foil, transferring it to a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Use half the melted chocolate to cover the top of the cake. Freeze the cake for ten to fifteen minutes to allow the chocolate to set.

Flip the cake over onto a layer of waxed paper and glaze the top with the remaining melted chocolate. Press the TNT Rainbow straps into the chocolate before chilling again to let the chocolate set.

Once the cake has chilled, you can create your cookies. Cut the cake into six 5 centimetre strips. Cut each of these strips into cookies of your preferred thickness. Your cookies can now be stored in an airtight container.

If you love TNT Rainbow Straps, you should speak to us. At http://www.funworks.com.au/, we have a fantastic selection of sweet treat including TNT Sour Straps. We can even arrange for bulk orders to cater for any special occasion.