1) Peel the oranges, remove the orange pith, and dice them into small cubes.  Caramelise the oranges with the sugar and set aside.  Add the date paste whilst the oranges are still warm, mix well and cool down completely.

2) Preheat the oven to 165C / 145C fan  and line a cupcake tin with cupcake cases (you might have to use two 12 cupcake tins or a 24 cupcake tin).

2) Sieve the flour and cocoa powder into a clean bowl, add the baking powder and mix. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat the eggs until pale and fluffy, then add the oil, milk and the freshly squeezed juice from an orange and mix well.

3) Start adding the dry ingredients, a little at a time; and mix well until all combined. To finish off, add the chopped chocolate, orange zest, caramelised oranges mixed with the date paste and gently stir with a spatula until well incorporated into the batter.

3) Spoon the cupcake batter into the prepared cases, about 2/3 full.  Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of each cupcake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool down completely in the cupcake tin. Remove the cupcakes from the tin before decorating.

CHOCOLATE BASE MIXTURE FOR THE CHOCOLATE WHIPPED CREAM:

1) Mix the sugar and the cocoa powder in a bowl.

2) Pour the cream into a larger saucepan and start heating it up. Watch it closely as the cream cannot start boiling. Once warm, add the butter and let it melt, stirring constantly. Then gradually add the sugar/cocoa powder mixture. Remove the saucepan from the heat and mix thoroughly.

3) Melt the chocolate using a bain-marie (a bowl suspended over a pan of boiling water). Pour the melted chocolate into the cream mixture while stirring constantly.

4) Once you’re happy with the chocolate base mixture, strain it through a sieve (use a spoon to push the mixture through a sieve) to make sure there are no unwanted lumps in it. Transfer the mixture into an airtight container and leave it to set in the fridge for at least 24 hours.

CHOCOLATE WHIPPED CREAM AND DECORATING:

1) Take the chocolate base and the whipping cream out of the fridge just before you start using them. They need to be cold!

2) Add 500g of the set chocolate base mixture into a stand mixer bowl and pour in the whipping cream. Start the mixer on the low speed then gradually increase the speed to the highest available.  The cream whips quickly, circa 2 minutes. Make sure you don’t overwhip the cream as this will spoil the texture and you will not be able to rectify it!

3) Fill a piping bag, fitted with a decorative nozzle, with the chocolate cream and decorate your cupcakes. Put the cupcakes back in the fridge for the chocolate cream to harden a little bit. Then, use a diced orange for the final decoration and serve. Enjoy!

This recipe has been prepared by @leliscupcakes