Feeling Anarchic? Have a cupcake.

A little while ago, Brent and I had my sister and some of her friends over for afternoon tea. Being in high school, they all think they're pretty punk and shit. Wearing tartan and listening to 'Against Me!' and whatever else kids are into these days.

So 3o'clock comes and 4 kids turn up at our tiny apartment (and I mean tiny). So they all pile in, and sit on the floor (because our lounge room isn't big enough for a table) and I bring out tea. Of the English Breakfast variety.

Then it gets awkward. I'm not even sure why we decided to have all these 15-year-olds over in the first place! Who's idea was this? Not mine, that's for sure. So we're sitting there, me and Brent, my sister and her friends, talking about bands that we've been listening too, and then I remember the whole reason they came over.

Cake!

But, to be more precise, punk cake.
(Forgive the pictures being on their sides. I couldn't work out how to get them around the other way. Whoops!)

[Note: I just want to clarify, that I don't actually think of myself as a punk, not even a little bit.]

Recipes:

Punk As Chocolate Cake:

oven 180.

125g butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup self raising flour

2 eggs

100ml milk, combined with 2 tbsp cocoa.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat again.

Fold in half the flour, then all the coca mix, then the rest of the flour.
Bake 45 mins.
(You could easily make this in a regular springform tin, or a (meat)loaf tin, if you're feeling creative.)

For the ganache and piping
90g dark chocolate
1 cup cream
icing sugar
water

Melt the chocolate and cream in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. (you can mix icing sugar in at this point, if you like it a bit sweeter).
You don't want the ganache to be too runny, either.
Smooth ganach over cake.
When cool, pipe words on, (made from glace icing- a mix of water and icing sugar and food dye) making them as anarchic, or not, as you like).

Lemon Anarchy Cupcakes:
oven 175
makes 18
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 cups self raising flour
4 eggs
1 lemon, juice and zest
icing sugar and more lemon juice and food dye.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and beat with electric mixers until combined.
Spoon into Patty(Smith) pans.
Bake for 20 mins, or until golden.
When cool, mix icing sugar with extra lemon juice until desired consistency (not too runny!).
Separate into two bowls, leave one white and colour the other.
Ice each cupcake with white icing, finish with coloured piping.

Rock on!

(If you like, you could listen to a bit of Against Me! while you're baking.)