Easter nest cupcakes

MAKES 12

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

175g butter

175g caster sugar 175g self-raising flour 50g cocoa powder 3eggs

For the buttercream:

75g Trex

75g unsalted butter

1/2 tsp vanilla paste or essence 200g icing sugar, sifted

25g cocoa powder

For the chocolate drizzle icing:

75g plain chocolate, broken into pieces

25g unsalted butter

3 tbsp double cream

For the nests:

100g plain chocolate, broken into pieces

2 large Shredded Wheat, broken into shreds ( keep some longer strands) Chocolate micro eggs to decorate

Preheat the oven to gas 5, 180°C, 160°C fan. Cream the butter and caster sugar together until it is a whipped mixture. Add the flour, cocoa and eggs and fold together then whisk until creamy.

Lightly grease a 12-hole muffin tin and divide the mixture between them. Bake for 20 minutes until well risen. Remove and cool for 10 minutes in the tin before easing each out of the tin and onto a cooling rack.

To make the buttercream, blend the butter and Trex until creamy, add the vanilla paste or essence, icing sugar and cocoa and mix carefully to avoid an icing sugar ‘cloud’, then beat until smooth and creamy.

Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Cut the cakes in half horizontally and pipe a layer of the buttercream onto the base layer, top with the second layer. Pipe a rosette of icing on the top of the cake, starting close to the edges and ending in a peak on the top.

Make the icing by placing the chocolate, butter and cream into a small heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until melted and glossy. Remove and cool for 10 minutes. Place into a small piping bag and snip the end to form a thin point. Drizzle over the buttercream. Set aside to set.

To make the nests, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Remove from the heat and add the broken Shredded Wheat and gently stir into the chocolate to coat the wheat strands. Using small tea cups, place a tablespoonful of the mixture into each and shape into a nest, with a hollow centre. Chill for 10 minutes, until set firm, remove from the cups using a small knife. Place on top of each cake, squishing down the icing peak to ‘glue’ the nest in place.

Fill each nest with a few micro eggs and serve.

For more Easter recipes visit realfood.tesco.com