With it now being November, it means there is only one more holiday before we can start getting excited for Christmas. So what a great excuse for a new bonfire night inspired cupcake recipe, yay!
I personally love the sticky goodness of a nice toffee apple, although I have consumed somewhat less of them since entering my adult years, so I'm hoping I have created a recipe that will suffice my hunger for toffee apples with less of the mess.
Bonfire Night Toffee Apple Cupcakes
-Cupcakes with cinnamon, ginger and vanilla, and salted caramel frosting, with drizzled toffee sauce and a slice of apple on top-
Recipe:
Cake Mix:
115g Butter
112g Caster Sugar
2 Eggs
225g Self-raising flour
2 Teaspoons cinnamon
1 Teaspoon ginger
1.5 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
50ml Milk
Frosting:
150g unsalted butter (room temperature)
300g icing sugar
2 Teaspoon Salted Caramel Essence
5 tablespoons Milk
Decoration:
Toffee Sauce
1 Apple
Make 12
Method:
Preheat your oven to Gas Mark 7/200C/400F
Place cupcake cases in a cupcake baking tray.
1. Add your butter to a bowl and cream a little so that it softens. Add in your caster sugar and cream together.
2. Add in your eggs and mix- it'll look a little disgusting at this point.
3. Sift in your flour and mix in a bit at a time.
4. Once your flour is mixed in, add in your cinnamon, ginger and vanilla. Do a little taste test and add more spice depending on your preference (My little sister said all she could taste was cinnamon and I thought it was vanilla heavy, and since she was probably already high on sugar we went with my taste buds).
5. Add in your milk a bit at a time and combine.
6. Even divide your batter between your cupcake cases.
7. Bake for 25-35 minutes (depending on how good your oven is, it took mine closer to 35 minutes, because our oven is never as hot as it is meant to be). Take out and allow to cool.
8. In another bowl, add your unsalted butter (at room temperature) and cream a little.
9. Sift in your icing sugar a bit at a time and add in a portion of your milk and combine (I went with 100g of icing sugar and added about 2 tablespoons of milk, apart from the last round where it was just 1 tablespoon).
10. Add in your salted caramel essence and mix, again do a little taste test, you can decide for yourself how caramel-y you want it.
11. Once your cupcakes have cooled you can add your salted caramel butter cream to the top, I decided to use a piping set to get a pretty effect, but it's up to you how you put it on.
12. If you decide to use a piping set I've found it's easiest to set up your nozzle of choice and place the piping bag in a tall glass and hold the top of the bag around the edges of the glass while putting in the frosting, saves me a lot of faffing about and a lot of split frosting.
13. Now you can prep your apple, simply cut your apple into quarters, obviously cutting around the core. You will only need 12 slices for the cupcakes, but I cut more so that I could choose which were the best pieces. If you do your apple earlier you can stop it browning from putting it in a bowl of cold water.
14. Drizzle your frosting with your toffee sauce, in which ever shape you choose, I did mine in a zigzag shape, which then fit nicely in the grooves of the frosting. Then place a slice of apple on top and you're done. Just make sure to put the cupcakes in the fridge for a few minutes to try and prevent the toffee sauce from dripping everywhere.
I made these cakes with my little sister while babysitting on Wednesday, and seriously, by the time my Dad came to pick her and my brother up, she was on a proper sugar high! Although I'm not sure if I should feel proud or troubled for introducing her to salted caramel, it's something new for her to eat, but it is of course packed full of sugar.
I am totally in love with these cupcakes, they are delicious! And are definitely a slightly more sophisticated adult version of a toffee apple.
So remember, each day, live a little, laugh a little and love a little. ♥
