Glamour Puds

Named after their rich flavour and deep red tint, Eric Lanlard's tower of cupcake creations from Channel 4 show Glamour Puds are the very height of fashion

Eric says: "This is my American friend Laury's recipe which was passed on to her by a relative. Unlike most cupcake recipes, there's not a hint of food colouring in this mixture. Instead, the rich colour is obtained by the reaction that the chocolate has with the vinegar. This recipe can be used to make a large cake if you prefer, and if you're struggling to choose between vanilla or chocolate frosting, why not try both?"

• 80g cocoa
• 1½ tsps vanilla extract
• 110g butter, softened
• 250g caster sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 240ml buttermilk
• 1 tsp salt
• 325g plain flour, sifted
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar

For the frosting

• 240ml milk
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 200g dark chocolate (62% cocoa) or 200g white chocolate
• 220g butter
• 300g icing sugar
• 2 tbsp cocoa, (for a white chocolate frosting, omit the cocoa)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Heat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Line two standard 12 cup cupcake tins with cupcake papers and set aside.

2. Mix the cocoa and vanilla together in a small bowl and set aside. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium-high speed. Add the yolks and beat for a further minute. Add the cocoa mixture and beat to combine.

3. Stir the buttermilk and salt together and add it to the butter and sugar mixture, a third at a time, alternating with the flour. Mix the bicarbonate of soda with the vinegar and blend into the batter. With an electric whisk beat the mixture for 5 minutes until light and runny.

4. Fill each cupcake tin to ¾ full and bake for 15 minutes or until a inserted skewer in the cupcake centre comes out clean. Cool in the trays on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes and cool completely before frosting.

5. For the frosting, whisk the milk, flour and salt in a small saucepan over a medium heat until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble, this should take 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside to cool.

6. Melt either the dark or white chocolate, then beat the butter, confectioners' sugar and cocoa (for the white chocolate frosting omit the cocoa) together until it becomes light and fluffy, then add this to the cooled chocolate.

7. Finally, add the milk and flour mixture and if you are using dark chocolate, add the vanilla extract at this stage. Beat together until smooth and fluffy and pipe on top of the cooled cupcakes.

© Eric Lanlard