Simply scrumptious: You just have to bake these tasty mint chocolate cupcakes

To celebrate Odlums’ support of the annual ‘CEIST All-Ireland Bake-Off’, Catherine Leyden, Ireland’s leading home baking expert, has offered this fantastic recipe for a classic flavour combination in cupcake form!

Gather up the troops and whip up a batch of delicious mint chocolate cupcakes. They're simply irresistible! 

Ingredients

175g/6oz Odlums self-raising flour

4 tablespoons Good quality cocoa

125g/4oz Shamrock Golden Caster Sugar

125g/40z Butter at room temperature

2 Eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon Peppermint essence

2 tablespoons Whole milk

Mint Butter Icing

125g/4oz Butter at room temperature

225g/8oz Icing sugar sieved

Green food colouring

1/2  teaspoon peppermint essence

Method:

• Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.

• Place paper cakes into the muffin trays.

• Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, milk and peppermint essence. If mixture starts to curdle, add a little of the flour.

• Sieve the cocoa and flour and fold into the butter and sugar mixture.

• Place spoonfuls of the mixture into the baking cases and bake for 20 minutes until golden and firm to the touch.

• Cool on a wire tray and decorate with mint butter icing.

• For the mint butter icing beat all ingredients until light and airy. Pipe on your cupcakes and top with a chocolate button or flake