Sinful Pleasures…

Let me make a confession. I am not a baker. I am not into baking, nor do I enjoy the tiresome process of folding one part of the batter into the other. Infact, the closest step I take to baking is opening a pre-packaged box of cake mix, breaking an egg or two into it as per the instructions, a spash of water as needed, and popping it into a warm oven.

Except until I decided to throw down my shield and create this. It was simple, quick and easy – not something I can easily relate to with baking. And so today, once more, I thought of doing the unmentioned. I decided to create a recipe that wouldn’t drive me away from the oven, but instead, could be my run-to solution for a quick remedy to those sugar pangs.

For the past one week, I’ve been craving chocolate. Not just any chocolate, but those sinfuly, rich, dark, delicious, melt-in-your-mouth-rest-on-your-hips decadent chocolate cakes. And it didn’t help that all the food magazines I subscribe to (yes, all 10 of them!) were filled with the most drool enhancing photographs of chocolatey holiday treats.

Looking puppy-eyed and battling my eye lids to Hubby didn’t work either. He refused to buy me a 12-inch cake to eat all by myself (locked in a room, gorging on it with my bare hands and having cream all over my face and hands, just like in my most secret chocolate fantasy!). So I had no choice but to experiment, and that I sure did. I studied over a dozen recipes, worked out the necessary ingredients, altered the measurements and of course, simplified the process.

As I sat down and took the first bite of the warm cake, I was taken to a place I had since long yearned to go. I suggest induling in the sin fresh from the oven. The soft chocolate chips in their almost liquified form, gives the cakes a warm gooey goodness. almost to the likes of a molten chocolate interior.

THE DEVIL-IN-ME DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

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Prep time: 10 min, Cooking time: 15 min | Makes: 12 cupcakes Â

1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup butter, melted 2 eggs, beaten 1 cup warm water 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

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4 tbsp cocoa powder 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp pure vanilla essence 1 tsp instant coffee powder

MIX all ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a large bowl to form a thick rich batter.

FOLD in chocolate chips and pour cake mixture into muffin cups set in a muffin tray bake for 15-20 in a 375 degree pre-heated oven till done.

RECIPE NOTES: To check if cakes are done, prick the middle with a tooth-pick, and if it comes out clean, then cakes are ready to taken out of the heat.

Enjoy with a warm cup of deliciously rich and frothy coffee!