During Winter, there are often days where I long for the beach (as I’m sure is the case with a lot of people). I long for that slight salt taste on my lips, the smell of sunscreen and the joy I feel watching my kids play in the water. I also long for the taste of sweet, extremely creamy Soft Serve ice cream. Preferably with chocolate dip and a flake.

So when thinking of new ideas for cupcakes, I thought a Soft Serve Cupcake would be an awesome idea. Combining two of my great loves? Genius!

During the process of experimenting, I made the stupid mistake of adding cream to my chocolate while it melted (making more of a ganache than the normal melted chocolate used for dipping a Soft serve ice cream), so the result was a lot ‘runnier’ and much shinier than the matte almost crispy ‘cap’ of chocolate we are all used to. But nevertheless, it still tasted amazing and the glossiness actually works quite nicely on the photo’s. I also, for some reason, really struggled to find Flakes (a very flaky chocolate) anywhere that day but if you find them, stick them in the buttercream before dunking the cupcakes! You can thank me later!

Serves 12

200g (7.05 ounces) Cake flour
150g (5.29 ounces) Castor sugar
125g (4.41 ounces) Butter, Room Temperature
125ml (4.23 fluid ounces) Milk
2 Large eggs
2.5ml (0.08 fluid ounces) Salt
10ml (0.34 fluid ounces) Baking Powder
Frosting
100g (3.53 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
400g (14.11 ounces) icing sugar, sifted
7.5ml (0.25 fluid ounces) vanilla extract
50ml (1.69 fluid ounces) cream
300g (10.58 ounces) chocolate
12 flake chocolates

1. Preheat the oven to 180° (356 degrees Fahrenheit) and place cupcake papers in a muffin tin.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat until the batter is smooth.
3. Divide the batter between the cupcake cups and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin before placing on a cooling rack to cool completely.
5. For the frosting, beat the butter until pale and fluffy. Beat in the icing sugar and mix for 5 minutes.
6. Add the vanilla extract and mix.
7. Add the cream slowly whilst mixing until you have reached the desired consistency.
8. Pipe the icing onto the cupcakes and place a flake into the buttercream. Place the cupcakes in the fridge for the frosting to set.
9. When the frosting is hard, melt the chocolate and allow to cool slightly.
10. Quickly dip each cupcake into the chocolate and hold upside down for the excess to drip off. Place on a wire rack and allow to set.

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Tags: Chocolate, Cupcakes, flake chocolate, soft serve cupcakes, soft serve ice cream, Vanilla Cupcakes