Gideon The Ninth -Inspired Dark Chocolate Chilli Cupcakes

“Nine for the Tomb, and for all that was lost”
— Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir.

Welcome to the darkness. These are not for the faint-hearted (shout out to Gideon herself.) So consider yourself warned; if you don’t like dark chocolate, move along. No shame in admitting defeat 😉

 
a small, moroccan style table, viewed from above. On the table are several chocolate cupcakes (some decorated with fondant skulls) beside a copy of Tamsyn Muir's novel Gideon the Ninth
 
“Harrow said, “No.”
“I want to go,” said Gideon.
“This sounds impossibly vapid.”
“I want to eat a dessert.”
“It occurs to me,” said Harrow, drumming her fingers, “that during a single dinner the deaths of multiple House scions could be assured by one clever pair, a bottle of poison, and then—suddenly, the Fifth House’s primacy is assured. And all because you wanted a sweet.””
— Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir
 
 

Spicy, Dark as hell Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:

  • 200g dark chocolate, finely chopped.

  • 200ml double cream.

  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon.

  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper.

NB: I added a pinch of chilli flakes to the cream as well, then strained it into the chocolate. But you might not want to do that. Or you could try it with fresh chopped chillis and cut out the cayenne? Or have both? Or boost the cinnamon and cayenne? It sort of depends on your taste for heat.

Method:

  1. Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

  2. In a saucepan, heat the cream with the cinnamon and cayenne (and optional dried/fresh chillis) until just simmering. Don’t let it boil, if it gets too hot it may split the chocolate.

  3. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate (through a sieve if you’ve added fresh/flaked chillis).

  4. Leave to stand for 5 minutes.

  5. Mix until smooth.

    5b. If there are still a few un-melted bits, use an immersion blender to get it really smooth. (Or if you’ve lost your immersion blender, like I have, you can use your nutribullet, like I did 😂. A regular blender might work in a pinch too, we are not Michelle Roux after all, just be sure the ganache is not still hot when you blend -  that’s a recipe for exploding blender lids.)

  6. Leave to set while you make the cake.

    (You’re aiming for a peanut butter kind of consistency, so keep checking or it will over-set and you’ll have to microwave it back to being soft enough to spread. True confessions: this totally happened to me when I made these, but someone in my family must have angered the ganache gods a few generations back because I swear I labour under a curse; something always goes wrong when I work with chocolate.)

“As Harrow smouldered with hatred, Gideon began to enjoy herself.”
— Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir
 
close up of a cupcake baking tray readying to go in the oven, the cases full of raw chocolate cake mix
 

Dark as the tomb chilli chocolate cupcakes

Ingredients:

  • 1x Betty Crocker Devil’s Food cake mix

  • 60g butter, melted

  • 60g sour cream

  • 3 medium eggs

  • 230ml Guinness (or stout/chocolate stout)

  • 1tsp vanilla extract

  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan/ Gas mark 4). Prep 2x 12 hole cupcake trays with cases.

  2. Add the spices to the box mix, and mix the butter, sour cream, eggs, Guinness, and vanilla extract.

  3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk (by hand or electric mixer) for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy.

  4. Distribute the mix evenly into the cupcake cases. (I use an ice cream scoop to get them even.)

  5. Bake in the middle of the oven for 18-22 minutes, until risen, or a cake tester/skewer/toothpick comes out clean.

  6. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely on wire racks.

  7. Ice your cupcakes!

  8. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container kept in a cool place for 2 days.

Optional fun and games: I decorated these with fondant skulls because I’m always looking for excuses to use the cookie cutter I got for Christmas. But I DO NOT RECOMMEND making up your own fondant from fondant icing sugar. Treat yourself to the ready-to-roll stuff. Trust me, my arms still aren’t talking to me. Knead until smooth my a**.

 
close up of some dark chocolate cupcakes, one decorated with a white fondant skull. In the background, a copy of Tamsyn Muir's novel Gideon the Ninth
 
 
A single, empty cupcake case, the cake already eaten
 

For fun, I suggest not telling anyone about the chilli kick in these; it makes for an eye-widening surprise, and provides a nice talking point while everyone decides if they like it or not.

And that’s goodbye lovely reading bakers. May your guests fight to the death over the last cupcake, and may no one in your family have angered the ganache Gods.

xxx