Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! And thanks for your wonderful support of my blog over the past year. I hope 2013 is a bright and brilliant year for us all.
One of my resolutions, well goals, really, that I've made for 2013 is to blog more often. So, I'm making a good start by posting this on New Year's day!
I've been working hard on my photography skills during 2012, so hopefully I can show you the results here. Lately, I've been loving experimenting with dark and mysterious food photography. It seems a bit crazy to be going all dark and moody when January is summertime in New Zealand, but these dark fruits of summer actually really lend themselves to sombre images, as well, as you can see with this photo.

Dark fruits of summer

I've been wanting to master the 'dark look', which is almost like an old-world still life painting, for ages, so I'm thrilled to have captured these shots.

Cherries and plums are my most favourite fruits, so after taking this still life shot I just had to bake something that I could add the fruit to. Chocolate and cherries of course is a combination made in heaven and this combination was my inspiration for these Chocolate Cherry Brownie Cupcakes. I recommend you make them as soon as you can because they really are heavenly. Eating these will certainly get your year off to a good start.

Chocolate Cherry Brownie Cupcakes

Chocolate Cherry Brownie Cupcakes
Makes 12

250g (2 sticks) butter

1 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)

1 cup firmly-packed soft brown sugar

2/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted

4 small eggs, lightly beaten

2/3 cup self-raising flour, sifted

1 cup pitted cherries (or use preserved cherries, well drained when cherries are out of season)

Extra cherries, to decorate

Chocolate sauce:

125g / 4oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup cream

Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F. Line 12 hole standard muffin pan with paper cases. Place butter and sugars in a large saucepan and gently melt. Stir in cocoa until smooth. Remove to cool slightly, then stir in eggs, a little at a time, followed by flour.

Spoon mixture into paper cases. Press a few cherries into the top of each cupcake. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool in the pan, then carefully lift out. 

To make chocolate sauce, melt chocolate and cream together in a bowl set over a saucepan one quarter full of simmer water (or microwave, if preferred), then stir until smooth. Pour sauce over cupcakes and decorate with extra cherries.