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Afghan Cupcake

August 7, 2015 By Dane McGregor 2 Comments

You wouldn’t be a kiwi growing up in New Zealand if there wasn’t the smell of freshly baked Afghans as a child, or even as an adult. There’s something super nostalgic and delicious about these chocolate biscuits speckled with cornflakes, smothered in chocolate icing and adorned with a walnut on top.

These flavours, ingredients and fond memories were the inspiration for this recipe, taking everything we love about the afghan biscuit and reimagining it as a cupcake. To start with, I’ve flipped the afghan upside down by having a moist chocolate cupcake speckled with walnut pieces (instead of cornflakes) and topping it off with chocolate buttercream and cornflakes (instead of the walnut). Not only is this Afghan Cupcake delicious and filled with the flavours we love about the iconic biscuit, it looks super fun too.

Print
Afghan Cupcake
Prep Time
40 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
1 hr
 
Serves: 12 Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcake
  • 80g Dark Chocolate
  • 180g Plain Flour
  • 30g Cocoa
  • 180g Caster Sugar
  • ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 70g Walnuts
  • 2 Eggs
  • 120ml Coffee – Cooled
  • 120ml Buttermilk
  • 100ml Oil
Buttercream & Topping
  • 90g Dark Chocolate
  • 150g Butter – Room Temperature
  • 270g Icing Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoon Milk
  • Cornflakes
Instructions
  1. Turn the oven onto 180°C bake and line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake cases, and then set aside.

  2. Add the flour, cocoa, sugar and baking soda into a medium sized mixing bowl. Then, chop up the chocolate and walnuts until they roughly resemble a coarse breadcrumb texture. Add this in with the other dry ingredients and mix everything together.

  3. Using a free-standing mixer or in a medium sized bowl with a hand-held beater, mix together the oil, buttermilk, eggs and cooled coffee. To make the cooled coffee, simply add ½ Tablespoon of instant coffee to 120mls of water. Beat these wet ingredients together until well combined.

  4. While still beating, slowly add the dry ingredients in with the wet until everything comes together as a smooth mixture. Then, pour mixture into a jug and carefully fill cupcake cases to just over two-thirds full.

  5. Bake for between 16-20 minutes or until the cupcakes spring back when touched and/or skewer comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from the oven and let them cool completely before making the buttercream.

  6. When it's time to make the buttercream, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water or in a microwave. Once melted, leave chocolate to cool for 5-10 minutes.

  7. Meanwhile in a medium sized bowl, beat the butter with a hand-held beater (or using a free-standing mixer) for 5 minutes, scraping the sides down occasionally. Sift the icing sugar and then add to the butter in two stages, beating for another 3 minutes between additions.

  8. On a slow speed add in the milk, then beat on high for another 5 minutes. Then, slowly pour in the melted chocolate and continue to beat for a few more minutes.

  9. Once the cupcakes have cooled, pipe a big round blob of chocolate buttercream on the top of each cupcake and roll or press the crunchy cornflakes over and around the top. Enjoy.


Flashback!

The Afghan Cupcake was the first recipe ever added to the Baker Gatherer website when it was registered in August of 2015, making this recipe the oldest on the website. Above is the first and only photo taken of this recipe when it was first shared in August of 2015, and it took me 7 years to come back to revisit and tweak this recipe, change the copy, and take some new photos. What a journey Baker Gatherer has been on, and so neat to be able to give this recipe some added love and the appreciation it deserves. Happy baking!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. EDVALDO BARROSO COSTA

    August 21, 2018 at 3:06 pm

    Only by the photo already seems too tasty. I will try it out.

    Reply
  2. Helan

    March 29, 2021 at 11:09 am

    Thanks For Sharing this Amazing Recipe. My Family Loved It. I will be sharing this Recipe with my Friends. Hope They will like it.

    Reply

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I love cake, but I also love coffee. And this seas I love cake, but I also love coffee. And this season calls for plenty of iced coffees. 

The perfect pairing with an iced coffee is this Chocolate Coffee Cake with a Coffee Mascarpone filling, recipe below. Hands up if you love both cake and iced coffees 🙌🏼.

✏️ Chocolate Coffee Cake

500g @bakelshomebaking Moist Chocolate Cake Baking Mix
½ Cup Water (Room Temp)
4 Eggs (Size 6 or 7)
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 Tablespoons Granulated Coffee

✏️ Coffee Mascarpone

500g Mascarpone
2 Tablespoon Granulated Coffee
3-4 Teaspoons Hot Water
6 Tablespoons Icing Sugar
Dark Chocolate

✏️ Method

1 - Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake and grease the sides and line the bases of 2 x 20cm round springform cake tins with greaseproof paper. Set aside.

2 - Place the cake ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat on a low speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and beat for another couple of minutes until smooth.

3 - Using kitchen scales, evenly measure cake mixture across the 2 prepared baking tins and bake for around 35-40 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before filling.

4 - To make the coffee mascarpone filling, start by dissolving the granulated coffee with the hot water in a small bowl or ramekin, then set aside to cool. Meanwhile, beat together the mascarpone and icing sugar until smooth. Add the cooled coffee mixture and beat once again until incorporated.

5 - To assemble, place the first layer of cake onto a serving dish or cake stand, then evenly cover with a layer of coffee mascarpone. Gently place the second cake layer on top, then cover with another generous layer of coffee mascarpone. To finish, grate chocolate over top and serve alongside a freshly made iced coffee, or at your next BBQ celebration.

Serves: 10+ Slices
So who is Dane, the face behind Baker Gatherer. Le So who is Dane, the face behind Baker Gatherer. Let me tell you, he’s a pretty sweet dude 😆 

Swipe for a couple tidbits…

Now, do you want to know anything else?
The Easter season is nearly upon us, which means H The Easter season is nearly upon us, which means Hot Cross Bun are ready to be enjoyed. With that said, @newworldnz always has a plentiful selection of Easter treats, especially Hot Cross Buns. This year I’m offering a different twist on an Easter tradition, and introduce these Hot Cross Bun Kebabs.

These Hot Cross Bun Kebabs are super easy to make and are served with a sweet Whipped Cream Cheese to dip. You can also use any of your favourite or seasonal fruit to make these kebabs your own. I’ll share the method and recipe below so you can make these delicious kebabs at your place this Easter!

So, don’t forget to grab some Hot Cross Buns from your local New World, and check out their website for plenty more Easter inspired recipes.

💥 Hot Cross Bun Kebabs

✏️ Ingredients

1 Pack of Hot Cross Buns from New World
2 Nectarines
2 Bananas
Grapes (Note: You can use any of your favourite or seasonal fruit)
Lemon Juice

130g Cream Cheese
100ml Fresh Cream
50g Caster Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

✏️ You’ll Need

Wooden Kebab skewers 

✏️ Method

To make the Whipped Cream Cheese:

1. Add the cream cheese and caster sugar into a bowl, and using a hand-held mixer, beat for 2-3 minutes until combined and fluffy.
2. Pour in the cream and vanilla extract and again beat for 2-3 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
3. Scoop into a serving bowl, cover and chill in the fridge until serving.

To make the Hot Cross Bun Kebabs:

1. Cut the hot cross buns into cubes, roughly 8 pieces per bun. Place cubes on a baking tray and grill each side until lightly toasted, turning regularly. Once all cubes are toasted, set aside to cool.
2. Dice your favourite or seasonal fruit into cubes, similar sizes to the hot cross bun cubes. Then dip or roll your diced fruit through lemon juice to prevent any browning.
3. To assemble your kebabs, alternate between various diced ingredients, starting with a hot cross bun cube at the base. Repeat until skewer is full. Serve immediately alongside the Whipped Cream Cheese, or chill in the fridge until serving. Enjoy.

Serves 12+
I feel I’m in denial the seasons are slowly star I feel I’m in denial the seasons are slowly starting to change. The long hot summer evenings are starting to slip and the mornings a getting darker and cooler… now where are my slippers?
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