if you happened to see last week’s six spoonfuls, or have been within ear’s reach of my gushing in recent days, you will know that i have recently acquired a brand spanking new kitchenaid artisan mixer. the queen of mixers, it has been my ambition in life for a good half decade now to own one.

through the incredible generosity of the bf, i happened to be gifted with this nifty number far earlier than i ever dreamed. after several hours of squealing, jumping up and down, and regular cuddles (followers on instagram will have seen evidence of this) i christened her betty and set about deciding what amazing creation would be popping her cherry.

it didn’t take me long, as i had just the recipe in mind – one i had been longing to make for more than six months after it floated on to my tv one rainy afternoon in january courtesy of martha bakes on the food network.

these incredible cupcakes require 16 minutes of high-speed whipping; not a task my little hand-held mixer (i.e. my arms) were ever up to. but with my new top of the line mixer taking pride of place in my kitchen, these babies were a breeze.

a chocolate cupcake base with a slightly concave top to play host to a lush, marshmallow cloud of meringue frosting, dipped in chocolate coating. they look just like the soft serve cones (or 99 cones as they’re called in england) you get from the ice cream truck. hence, i’ve named them mr whippy cupcakes. martha calls them hi-hat cupcakes, but i prefer my name. call them what you will, they’re de-lish and oh so impressive when presented to a table full of greedy people.

the recipe isn’t hard, but there are a number of steps involved; this isn’t a dessert you want to make on a weeknight or when you’re under pressure. save these for a lazy afternoon when you can spend a couple of hours pottering about in the kitchen and can emerge unfrazzled.

you will need a pastry bag, or be able to make one out of baking parchment, to create your clouds of heavenly frosting. don’t expect them to turn out perfect, you’ll just end up in tears. people are impressed by these whether you have achieved an elegant swirl or a slightly lopsided squirt, so don’t be hard on yourself. the most important thing is to refrigerate the cupcakes in between frosting and dipping, to ensure the frosting is properly set, and to allow the chocolate coating to cool right down (at least 15 minutes) before dipping, otherwise you will have one big melted mess.

martha stewart actually released two versions of this recipe, in 2006, and an updated one in 2011. as i like to really complicate things for myself, i used the cupcake base recipe from this one and the frosting recipe from this one. but whichever you follow, i guarantee they will be delicious.

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