Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

I just love the combination of chocolate and mint! Milkshakes, hot chocolate, sundaes, ice cream, candy bars, cookies... No matter what, as long as it has chocolate and mint in it, I will love it! However, most Germans don't seem to appreciate that combo as much as I do. That's why (among many other reasons, of course!) I am always thrilled to travel to the United Kingdom or the USA, where I induldge in as many mint-and-chocolate flavoured treats as I can!
So, here's my recipe for Chocolate Mint Cupcakes.

For 12 cupcakes you will need:

• 100g (3.5 oz) butter
• 100g (3.5 oz) sugar
• 2 eggs
• 150g (5.3 oz) flour
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 tbsp plain yogurt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 100g (3.5 oz) melted dark chocolate
• 4 tbsp chocolate chips

For the peppermint buttercream topping:

• 125 g (4.4 oz) butter at room temperature
• 250 g (8.8 oz) vanilla pudding /custard 
• about 6 to 10 tbsp peppermint syrup
• some chocolate shavings and peppermint leaves to decorate

1. Preheat your oven to 160°C / 320 F.
Prepare a 12-mould-cupcake tin by using paper liners.
Cream together butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat until pale and creamy. Combine flour, baking soda and cocoa powder and fold into the butter and sugar mixture. Add the yogurt and vanilla extract, beating until the batter is homogenous. Fold in the melted chocolate and the chocolate chips.
Evenly divide the batter between the cupcake tins. Bake at 160°C / 320 F for about 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool.

2. For the buttercream, beat the butter until pale, using an electric mixer (about 5 minutes). Add the pudding/custard one tablespoon at a time, beating continuously. Once you have a homogenous cream, add the peppermint syrup one spoonful at a time. Depending on the intensity of your syrup, you might want to use a bigger or smaller quantity, so make sure you taste the buttercream while adding the peppermint flavour (you don't want to end up with buttercream tasting like tooth paste and you don't want the buttercream to curdle, either!).

3. Fill the buttercream into an icing bag with a large round tip and pipe several generous puffs onto the cupcakes. Decorate with some chocolate shavings and mint leaves.