How to make chocolate Marijuana Cupcakes

With the South African Constitutional Court announcing today that the use of cannabis will be legalised for home use we’ve now joined the leagues of countries in Europe and the USA who legalised the use of it years ago.

I personally am not a smoker of it because I’m against pulling any kind of smoke into my lungs but over the years I’ve managed to come up with ways to cook with it. With trial and error I’ve figured out a few things.

• Cannabis is really bitter and really doesn’t taste that good.
• A lot of the potency of the herb is lost if you cook it wrong.
• You don’t just add it to whatever you’re cooking, you need to activate the THC (the stuff that gives cannabis it’s effect) molecules in the herb first.
• To get as much out of the herb you need to follow a few culinary steps first to avoid bitterness and to also draw as much of the THC from it as possible.

The first thing you’ll need to do when cooking with Cannabis is draw out the THC from the herb. This is a game of patience and can’t be rushed. This is how you make what is called Cannabutter. You don’t want a bitter butter that is weak. If you follow this recipe below you won’t go wrong.

You’ll need:

1. 30g dry cannabis
2. 500g unsalted butter
3. 1 litre water
4. A clean muslin cloth or pillow case

Directions:

• Place the cannabis on an oven tray that has been lined in foil.
• Pre-heat your oven to 110°C and scatter the cannabis evenly around the tray.
• Bake the cannabis for 1 hour. Don’t worry, this step doesn’t “kill” the potency, it activates the THC in the herb. Be warned though, it will make your kitchen smell of weed.
• Place the water and butter in a pot and heat it until all the butter has melted.
• Once the butter has melted, throw your baked cannabis into the pot. Reduce the heat of the stove to the lowest heat possible. You don’t want it to boil.
• Let the pot simmer for about an hour and a half. This process is basically how we infuse flavours into oils like truffle oil etc. It works exactly the same with cannabis, the slow simmer draws the THC out and the water removes all the bitter taste and impurities.
• Line a plastic container or bowl with the muslin cloth or pillow case and pour the contents of the pot through the cloth into the bowl.
• At the end squeeze as much of the liquid out the cloth as possible. You can get rid of the boiled leaves leftover in your cloth now. The good stuff is in the liquid in your bowl.
• Place the bowl in the fridge for 3 hours for the butter to solidify again.
• Using a knife carefully slice around the top edge of the butter until it gives way. Scoop this solid layer of butter out. This is your Cannabutter. You can get rid of the left over liquid at the bottom.
• Done. You now have really potent Cannabutter that won’t be bitter. You can use it to cook anything and for baking.
• You can now use it for this recipe below (makes about 24 cupcakes):

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups flour
• 2 cups castor sugar
• ¾ cup cocoa
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ½ cup melted Cannabutter
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 cup hot black coffee

For the icing:

• 250g room temperature Cannabutter
• 400g icing sugar
• 100g melted dark chocolate

1. Mix all the wet ingredients together.
2. Mix the dry ingredients together.
3. Beat well.
4. Scoop out into cupcake wrappers in a muffin tray
5. Bake at 180°C for about 15mins

For the icing:

1. Make sure your melted chocolate has cooled down. Don’t use warm melted chocolate.
2. Beat the butter and chocolate until blended.
3. Add the icing sugar and beat well.
4. Pipe onto your cooled cupcakes.

Freezer Friendly Cannabis Cupcakes!

Wrap cupcakes individually in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag and freeze.  Bring to room temperature and enjoy anytime you want a medicated treat.

A note about the Dosing on this recipe!

This recipe will have about 55 mg THC per regular size cupcake or 17 mg THC per mini-cupcake, IF you made your marijuana butter and oil from average cannabis (10% THC) and used 1/2 ounce of marijuana to make 1 cup butter or oil.  To adjust the dosage up or down for your personal needs and to reflect the strength of the marijuana you are cooking with and the amounts you used to make your butter and oil, be sure to take my FREE 10 minute online Dosing Class that will teach you how to do it, or use my handy dosage calculator tools that do all the math for you (see below).

Cannabis Cupcakes

• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cannabis infused butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup Kahlua Tia Maria, or other coffee flavored liqueur

Icing

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons Kahlua Tia Maria, or other coffee flavored liqueur
• cocoa and/or cocoa nibs for garnish optional

Prepare Cupcakes

• Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan or 36-cup mini-cupcake pan(s) with paper liners.
• Mix cocoa and water together in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside.
• In a separate small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• Beat cannabis infused butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy and well combined.
• Beat in vanilla and eggs and Kahlua.
• Beat in cocoa and water mixture and continue mixing until smooth and well combined.
• Lower mixer speed and beat in dry ingredients until just mixed, do not over beat.
• Divide mixture between prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. About 12-15 minutes for large cupcakes, about 10- 12 minutes for mini-cupcakes. Cool completely before frosting.

Prepare Icing

• Beat butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in confectioner’s sugar. Add Kahlua, a little at a time until you reach an icing consistency you like.
• Pipe icing onto cupcakes, or alternately spread with a spatula. Garnish, if desired, with cocoa nibs and a sprinkling of cocoa powder.