Chocolate Centred Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Liquor Cream Cheese Frosting decorated with Chocolate covered Hazelnuts and Plums soaked in Brandy

This idea was born from the depths of my brain when I had....(drumroll).... bits and bops in the kitchen. Confessing right now... but the result was phenomenal. I wasn't actually planning on baking at all today but figured let's do it or else... and the great excuse was that @DigiBungalow was celebrating their first anniversary tonight, so I figured in true Malaysian fashion....aiyah...why not! So here's what the whole deal was: A Chocolate centred Vanilla Cupcake with Chocolate Liquor Cream Cheese Frosting decorated with Chocolate covered Hazelnuts and Plum soaked in Brandy.

The batter:

I used the stacked vanilla cupcake recipe

Chocolate pieces either from cooking chocolate or even normal chocolate that you have laying around

The cream cheese frosting:

1 tub 300gm cream cheese

About 400gm icing sugar

about 3 tbsp chocolate liquor or slightly more if you want it boozier

1 tbsp cocoa powder

Decoration:

About 5 plums - slivered

2 to 3 tbsp brandy

24 pieces of chocolate covered hazelnuts / M&Ms / Smarties

Method:

1. Heat up the oven to 190 Degrees. Prepare your cake batter and line the muffin trays with cupcake cups. Scoop enough into the cupcake cups. Then place a piece of choc into the centre of the batter of each cupcake cup before baking. Bake for about 14 minutes or until golden brown. The chocolate will either stay abreast or sink a little. Doesn't matter.
2. Next soak the plum slivers into brandy and let it sit in the fridge. Make the cream cheese frosting by combining all the ingredients together and beat til stiff. Remove.
3. When cupcakes are cooled down, spoon in the cream cheese frosting into a piping bag. Pipe enough to cover most of the cupcake surface. Then arrange two plum slivers and the chocolate covered hazelnuts any which way you see fit. Below is how I did it.

Now it is waiting to be covered with foil and off to be eaten at the party!

Can't wait to indulge in it,

The Innovative Baker