Nigella's Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes recipe

Sainsbury's recently tempted me into using their online grocery shop by offering a hefty discount so I looked for ingredients not found in our usual supermarket, Tesco. These cupcakes came to mind.

In the original recipe, Nigella says:

“The jam I use for these is the morello cherry preserve from Sainsbury's special selection; if you're using a less elegant, and probably sweeter confection, reduce the sugar in the cake a little.”

Sainsbury’s cherry compote has less sugar (29g per 100g) than their cherry conserve (54.6g per 100g) so I used the compote and didn’t reduce the sugar.

While these cupcakes are on the heavier side due to the jam, they’re rich, moist and decadent. I think of them as a special occasion cupcake.

This is the recipe where I first discovered chocolate ganache and I’ve used it to top many cakes since. It’s beautifully simple. Combine:

• 100g of dark chocolate
• 100g of double cream
• Heat gently

I’ve only had ganache split once and it was because I let it overheat. If this happens, take the pan off the heat, add a tiny bit more cream, and whisk as hard as you can. The ganache should come together once it cools but if it doesn't, keep adding tiny amounts of cream and whisking furiously until it does.

Another reason I love this ganache, aside from the taste, is that unlike fresh cream it doesn’t need to be refrigerated.