Mini almond and chocolate cupcake with orange frosting

Observing life through the eyes of a child particularly your own child is a glorious way to rediscover the wonders of the world .Chocolate is one of those precious treasures that captivates people and leaves them enthralled & as they melt in ones mouth unfold the incredible taste of heaven. As a child I was not so keen on munching the dark brown or white bars of chocolate but seeing my little one’s passionate and unfathomable love for chocolates ignited my taste buds. I am glad that I started loving the dark chocolates and the intense one are one of my favorite indulgences now.

Dark chocolate with more that 70 % to 80 % cocoa are rich in antioxidants and considered as a healthy treat How ever milk chocolates are often loaded with fats, sugar so if you have choice ,having a decadent piece of dark chocolate is a better choice. But moderation always is the key.

On a recent trip to Australia, my son was thrilled to see the unending aisle of supermarket shelf inundated with chocolates and he insisted that we carry a bag full of those goodies and my husband a die hard fan of chocolates voted for his suggestions.

Apart from chocolates my son has also led me to discover how magnificent these little comic characters are and how crazy they make you, that you tend to possess them in every available shape and size.

These cupcakes are a version of my chocolate sponge but I tweaked it a bit by adding almond meal that renders it a more dense and healthy bite for the little appetites. Orange is one of the best paired combinations with chocolate and imparts a distinct zing to chocolates.

Here is a simple recipe.

Ingredients

½ cup plain flour
½ cup almond meal
11/2 teaspoon Baking powder
2 table spoon cocoa powder
½ cup sugar
1/2 cup oil/butter
Zest of 1 orange
½ tsp orange essence
½ cup milk
2 eggs

Method

Cream butter and sugar. Shift flour, meal and baking powder. Add egg and whisk the mixture until light and fluffy. Add the zest and essence. Gently fold the shifted flour and milk alternatively. Mix until well incorporated.

Preheat the oven 180 ‘c. Grease a muffin pan and fill them with 2/3 of the mixture and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove and cool them on racks. Meanwhile prepare the frosting. I have used a proportion of 1 tablespoon of cream to 1 ½ tablespoon of icing sugar, few drops of orange essence and a pinch of orange color.

Spread the frosting and enjoy watching the little ones gulping in no time.

Here is a wonderful website http://momadewizkids.com/blog/ and humble attempt by a close friend Deepali to deal with various issues of raising a child. Some of the most pertaining issues of raising a child are

My child doesn't like certain foods, Why?

Genius - Are they born or Can they be made?

Participate in your child’s energy.

Have a look and see if her suggestions help. It did lot to me and also to some of our close buddies whom she selflessly guided during our stay in Beijing.