Salted Caramel Cupcakes

These are GOOD!!

I've made them about three or four times now, each outcome has been slightly different.

It's a plain sponge cupcake (either chocolate or vanilla), filled with a salted caramel sauce and topped with a vanilla buttercream frosting.

The combination of the salty and sweet is one of my favourite, and these cupcakes are a definite crowd pleaser.

I prefer making these with a chocolate cupcake base, it just makes the cakes slightly more decadent! 

Credit to the Hummingbird Bakery (I'm obsessed with their new cookbook).

The cake came out quite dense when I made them a few weeks ago. I prefer a lighter and more crumbly cake so I altered the method a little bit. 

The recipe requires that one mixes the flour, sugar, butter and baking powder until you reach a crumbly consistency. Next, add in the wet ingredients. However, if you cream the butter and sugar together first, and then add in the eggs and flour, the cakes come out a little bit lighter and not as dense.

Ingredients

70g unsalted butter, softened

240g caster sugar

2 eggs

170g plain flour

50g cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

210ml skimmed milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 170C and line a cupcake tin with 12 muffin liners.
Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt into a medium sized bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Add in the eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated.
Mix in the milk and flour mixture in alternating batches, starting with the dry ingredients. 
Spoon into the cupcake cases and bake for 20-25 minutes until the cakes are firm to the touch and a sharp knife (or skewer) comes out clean when inserted into the centre.
Leave the cakes to cool, and get started on the toppings.

CARAMEL SAUCE
These cupcakes are filled with a salted caramel sauce. Carnation sell a tinned caramel and this works quite well. Melt a couple of tablespoons of the caramel in a microwave on low power for about 20 seconds (more if needed). Add a pinch of sea salt.
Once the cakes are cooled, cut out a small hole in the centre with a knife. Fill the hole with caramel and then place the top back on.

FROSTING

A simple buttercream frosting goes really well with this cake.

175g unsalted butter, softened

300g icing sugar

little splash of vanilla extract

splash of milk, if needed.

Beat the ingredients with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Pipe or spread onto the cupcakes, and then drizzle on top some salted caramel sauce.

I made these cakes for my sister a few months ago. Here's my brother-in-law Josh; I think he enjoyed them!!!

That's all for now!
J xx

Lemon Cupcakes

Hey peeps!!

Just a quick post...

I made some lemon cupcakes yesterday (they were incredible), thought I'd share the recipe!

Stumbled upon this recipe online somewhere, and they are ridiculously lemony.

According to Ina Garten (my favourite person on the Food Network by far), the most flavour is in the zest of the lemon!!! I didn't use any vanilla extract in the batter, and used lots of lemon juice in the cream-cheese frosting.

A family friend of ours makes the most INSANE lemon pavlova, and these taste almost identical!!!!

Here's how it goes..

Ingredients

60g unsalted butter, softened

140g caster sugar

2 eggs

100g plain flour

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1tbsp lemon juice

1tsp lemon zest (or more if you like it extra tangy)

1/4 cup soured cream

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with some muffin liners.

Sift the flour and bicarb into a small bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, and then mix in the eggs.

Once the eggs are incorporated, add in the flour mixture and beat on medium until well mixed.

Next, fold in the lemon zest, juice and soured cream with a spatula, and spoon the batter into the prepared liners. I usually use an ice cream scoop - it just creates perfectly uniform-sized cupcakes. Because I used large muffin cases and quite a wide ice cream scoop, I only got around 8-9 cupcakes out of this batter. However, if you make them as normal cupcake size, you're likely to get about 11 or 12.

Bake at 180C for about 15-18 minutes, until the cakes are slightly golden and firm to the touch.
Take out of the oven and leave to cool.

FROSTING

A simple cream cheese frosting, with the volume turned up.

Ingredients
100g cream cheese
75g unsalted butter, softened
300g icing sugar
1 tsp lemon juice (to taste).
1 tsp soured cream
splash of milk (if needed)
extra lemon wedges, for garnish.

Beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. 
Add in the icing sugar in small batches (so to avoid making too much mess).
Add in the soured cream and lemon juice and beat on high speed until light and fluffy.
Add milk if the frosting is still too thick.
Either spread or pipe onto the cupcakes and place a small lemon wedge on top to decorate.

So good!!!