CHERRY CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES with CARAMEL SPIRALS

Inspired by Gustav Klimt's painting ... "Judith II".

In my thesis for my training as professional photographer, I had the idea to combine two of my favorite passions: art and food photography. The result are dishes inspired by paintings of the Art Nouveau painter Gustav Klimt ... playful. sensual. decorative.

INGREDIENTS (for 10 cupcakes)

. 200 g of flour 
. 2 tbsp cocoa powder 
. 0.5 tsp baking soda 
. 180 g sugar 
. 50 g butter 
. 1 egg 
. 0.5 tsp vanilla pulp 
. 50 ml canola oil 
. 50 ml of buttermilk 
. Pickled cherries in rum 

Frosting 

. 150 g cream cheese 
. 150 ml whipping cream fat (cream stabilizer) 
. 0.5 tsp vanilla pulp 
. 50 g powdered sugar 

for garnish 

. 1 cup granulated sugar 
. 1/4 cup cold water 
. 1/4 tbsp lemon juice 
. 10 cherries with stems 
. gold leaf


1. Preheat oven to 150 ° C .

2. Mix flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix butter and sugar with mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir oil and egg. Add flour mixture and buttermilk in three stages , starting and stop with the flour.

3. Fill paper cases to 2/3 and bake for 25-30 min.  After cooling down, cut a hole in each tart and fill with a pickled cherry.

4. Whip the cream in a large bowl with cream stabilizer. Cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla in another bowl. Then mix everything together.

5. For the sugar spirals mix sugar, lemon juice and water in a pan. Simmer on medium heat about 10 minutes until the sugar mixture begins to brown and a become a viscous mass. Put the mass in spiral shape with a spoon on a plate lined with baking paper. Then leave to cool.

6. Put frosting with a pastry bag on the tarts and garnish with a sugar spiral, a cherry and gold leaf.