Chocolate and Worm Cupcakes

The fiancé and I moved into our flat at the end of May and though we've had a flat on our own before, this is the first time we're in the centre of town/the village and therefore a place for trick-or-treaters (or guisers as everyone up here calls them).  We're very close to the local primary school and so there are a lot of kids living around us too.  Hence we figured we should be prepared for them in case any came by, which some might since apparently the fiancé's Mum will be telling her old class that I worked with in the summer that I'm handing out treats.  Now, I could have just gone and bought sweets but where's the fun in that?  So instead I baked three different types of cake, ending up with over 50.  I figured I would rather have too many than not enough.  Unfortunately, I had far too much, as I only got one group of kids at my door.  I was a little disappointed.  I did find out later that some of the kids had misunderstood and gone to the fiancé's Mum's house for cake since I used to live there.  Oh dear.  But my and the fiancé's co-workers all ended up benefiting since we split up the leftovers between us and took them into work today (although I did keep some for myself).

Anyway, on to the first cake of three: Chocolate and Worms.  These are a brownie cupcake with some chocolate buttercream, jelly worms and brownie crumbs on top.  I picked brownie cupcakes because I thought they gave a nice, dirt-like texture.  Originally I wanted to bore holes in the cakes and run the worms through them, but the brownie mix was too crumbly and they fell to pieces.  This is why I also baked them without cases, but I lost a few trying to get them out, so I'm going to suggest making them in cases in the recipe write up.

Recipe - makes about 17 (actually 18 but you need one for crumbling)

Cakes - adapted from 200 Cupcakes

• 100g/3.5oz milk chocolate chunks/chips
• 200g/7oz plain chocolate 
• 150g/5oz lightly salted butter
• 3 eggs
• 200g/7oz light muscavado sugar
• 125g/4oz self-raising flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

1. Line one 12 hole and one 6 hole cake tray with paper cases and preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5.
2. In a glass bowl placed above a pan of simmering water, melt together the chocolate and the butter.
3. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar.
4. Stir in the melted chocolate and butter.
5. Sift together the flour and baking powder and gently fold into the mixture.
6. Fold in the milk chocolate chunks.
7. Spoon equal amounts into the paper cases but try not to have any chocolate chunks in the one you will be crumbling for decoration.
8. Bake for about 12 minutes.  A crust should have formed on top of the cakes but they will still be quite soft underneath.
9. Allow to cool in the tray for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Topping:

• 85g/3oz icing sugar
• 30g/1oz butter
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 30g/1oz cocoa powder
• 2 x 100g packets of jelly snakes

1. Put everything except the snakes in a bowl and beat together until smooth.  
2. Use a spoon to cover all cakes but one (the one to be crumbled) in a not-too-thick layer of the buttercream.
3. Put two jelly snakes on top of each cake.
4. Crumble up the remaining cake and cover any exposed buttercream with a thin layer of the crumbs.