Bonfire Feast: Magic Stars Mini Cupcakes

I love Bonfire Night, its one of my favourite nights of the year. Not only am I a sucker for twinkly fireworks, but I love the story of the Gunpowder Plot. I remember being taught about it in first school and it totally captured my imagination. This week I've got some Bonfire Night themed recipes for you, whether you're having your own display at home (I am tonight, I've got the sparklers ready!), going out with friends, or just enjoying a cosy night in.

To kick off this mini-series I've got these seriously cute Magic Stars Mini Cupcakes. Perfect for little hands, these cute cakes are topped with chocolate ganache and a sprinkling of popping candy - they're very quick to make too, so you can spend more time building that bonfire!

Ingredients:

1 egg
Margarine or butter
Caster sugar
Self-rasing flour
Cocoa powder

For the chocolate ganche topping:
75ml double cream
50g dark chocolate

To decorate:
Magic Stars
Popping Candy

Makes 20 mini cupcakes

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C, line a mini cupcake tin.

2. Weigh the egg in its shell. Make a not of the measurement and weigh your margarine, sugar and flour to the same amount. Cream together the sugar and margarine until light and fluffy and beat in the egg, adding a tablespoon of cocoa powder. Once the egg and cocoa are fully incorporated fold in the flour.

3. Place teaspoonfuls of mixture into the cupcake tin and bake for 15-17 minutes, until the cakes are risen and  springy to touch. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack and leave to cool.

4. Whilst the cakes are cooling make the chocolate ganache. Place the cream into a saucepan and heat until just before boiling. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl. Add the hot cream to the chocolate and stir until all the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Leave to cool and thicken.

5. Once the cakes have cooled, spread a little of the ganache over the top, add some magic stars and popping candy and enjoy!

Quick side-note: If you are using popping candy, don't add it to the cakes until just before you eat them. If not it goes all melty and funny on top of the cakes - it is still edible in its melty state, but the cakes aren't the prettiest!