Dense Chocolate Cupcakes

*From Nigella Lawson's recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (110 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
200 g dark muscovado sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
50 g dark chocolate, melted and cooled a little
100 g all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (bicarbonate soda)
1/2 cup (125 ml) boiling water

Icing:
175 g dark chocolate
75 g milk chocolate
200 ml whipping cream (double cream)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Decor - dragees, smarties or royal icing flowers

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350† F (180 C/gas mark 4) and put 12 muffin liners in a muffin tin.
2. Cream together butter and sugar until pale yellow and creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat in.
3. Fold in slightly cooled chocolate, taking care to blend well but being careful not to overbeat.
4. Sift flour and baking soda together and gently add them, alternately with the boiling water until you have a smooth and fairly liquid batter.
5. Fill the 12 muffin paper liners in the muffin tin. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes, remove from tin and cool on a rack.

Icing
1. Break all the chocolate into pieces (nibble on a few, if necessary) and heat with the cream and vanilla in a saucepan until melted.
2. Leave to cool at room temperature, whisking intermittently until it is a good consistency for icing.
3. Spoon some onto each completely cooled cake and spread with the back of a spoon or small off-set spatula and stud each with a smartie, small pile of dragees or a royal icing flower.
4. Leave to set somewhere cool. though preferably not in the fridge.