Neapolitan Hi-Hat Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 180°C (fan forced). Line a 12 hole cupcake tray with patty cases.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Using a whisk, mix in sugar, cocoa, vanilla and salt. Whisk in egg working quickly to incorporate it into the mixture.

Sift in flour and baking powder, then add chocolate chips. Mix to combine. Divide batter evenly across 12 patty cases and bake for approx. 10 minutes or until the tops of the brownie have formed a crust.

Cream butter, sugars and vanilla together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well to combine.

While the butter is mixing, prepare strawberry puree. Place strawberries in a food processor with water and process until pureed. You will need 75ml of strawberry puree so add a little water to adjust. Add sour cream to food processor and mix until the strawberry mixture is creamy and sour cream is well combined.

Sift in the flour and mix on a low speed until combined.

Add strawberry mixture into the butter mixture and mix well to combine. Colour batter to desired shade of pink. Add cupcake mixture to the top of the brownie mixture and bake for 12-15 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Fill a medium saucepan with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Place all marshmallow ingredients in a large glass or metal bowl and whisk by hand to combine. Place bowl over saucepan ensuring that the bottom of the bowl is not touching the simmering water.

Whisk mixture constantly until sugar dissolves and the mixture is hot to the touch, being careful not to bring to a simmer. This should take about 5-7 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk the mixture on a medium speed for 1-2 minutes before whisking on high for another 5 minutes (or until glossy peaks form).

Pipe marshmallow icing on to each cupcake using a large round tip. Hold the piping bag upright and keeping it at the centre of the cupcake at all times, squeeze the piping bag until a large round amount of buttercream covers the top of the cupcakes. Continue this twice more so that there are 3 layers of icing decreasing in size as they continue up the cupcake. Place the cupcakes in the fridge for 20-25 minutes.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave proof bowl for 1 minute. Take out and stir. If not completely melted after 1 minute place back in the microwave for 30 seconds. (N.B after the first initial 1 minute in the microwave do not place the chocolate in the microwave for longer than 30 seconds at a time as this will over heat the chocolate).

Mix vegetable oil into chocolate until combined. This will thin the chocolate mixture out and prevent it from hardening too quickly.
Place chocolate into a deep cup that has a widening at the top big enough to dip a cupcake into. Allow chocolate cool. Place coconut into a large mixing bowl.

Once cupcakes have cooled, gently hold the base of the cupcake and dip into the cooled chocolate mixture. Allow as much excess chocolate drip away as you can and then flip right side up. Before the chocolate sets, cover it with coconut over the large mixing bowl to ensure you catch any coconut wastage and reduce the mess.

TIP: if your chocolate starts to set, zap it in the microwave. If it becomes too thick add more vegetable oil. Left over chocolate can be refrigerated to store for another use.