It’s Valentine’s Day and the sweetest cakes that I saw whilst out and about this morning were simple chocolate cupcakes with a single gold-sprayed Rolo on top. I didn’t have time to make anything fancy and I haven’t baked cupcakes in a little while now, so I’m a little out of practice. However, baking always relaxes me and I am reminded of how quick and fun it can be to make a quick batch at a fraction of the cost. Sometimes, simple best. You don’t have to get all fiddly and pipe the frosting, just take a reasonably flat knife and spread your topping over the top. If you fancy something a little different, try my Raspberry Ripple and Basil cupcakes instead.
This is a recipe adapted from a lovely new baking book in my collection, Peggy Porschen’s Boutique Baking. I imagine her cupcake boutique was filled to the brim with pretty and intricately decorated Valentine’s Day cakes today. It is definitely on my list of places to visit when London-bound. Since receiving the book for Christmas, I’ve had my eye on Peggy’s triple layer Creamy Caramel Cake, but in the end, I wondered if I’d be the only one left eating it. So, I decided to halve the cake mix to make 12 individual cupcakes instead. I added some My Secret Kitchen Vanilla Pudding Spices (cinnamon would work well, too) and used a toffee sauce, since that’s what I had, in place of dulce de leche. Peggy suggests making a sugar syrup to soak into the cakes once baked, but as these were small cupcakes with plenty of sweet frosting on top I didn’t think it was necessary.
Adapted from Peggy Porschen’s Boutique Baking (Creamy Caramel Cake)
Ingredients
-
100 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
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100 g vanilla sugar or golden caster sugar
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2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
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100 g self-raising flour
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1 teaspoon Vanilla Pudding Spices or Cinnamon
- For the Buttercream Frosting
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100 g unsatled butter
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150 g icing sugar
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60 g toffee or caramel sauce
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Two tablespoons cocoa powder to dust
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/gas mark 5. Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with paper cases.
- Beat the butter and vanilla sugar together for at least five minutes until pale and creamy.
- Slowly add the beaten eggs and gently whisk together.
- Sift in the flour and pudding spices or cinnamon and gently mix together with a metal spoon until all the flour is folded in.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the 12 cupcake cases, or use an ice-cream scoop. The cases should be just over half full.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for 12-15 minutes until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Take the cakes out of the oven and leave them to cool.
- To make the buttercream frosting, beat the butter and icing sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the toffee sauce and mix well.
- Using a small palette knife or a flat knife, spread a little frosting onto each cake. Twist the cake round as you spread to create a swirl effect.
- Dust the cakes lightly with cocoa power and eat!
With all the pretty flowers around too, I am also reminded that it’s almost spring and that warmer weather and a little bit of sunshine is just around the corner.
Since I had bookmarked Peggy’s Caramel Cake, but ended up with cupcakes, I’m sending this to Bookmarked Recipes at Tinned Tomatoes hosted by Jac.
I’m also sending these to Credit Crunch Munch hosted jointly by Fuss Free Helen and Camilla. The Valentine’s Day cupcakes I saw in town were £2.50 each! Since I had all the ingredients in the cupboard to make these myself, I saved myself a fair few pennies.
I hope you’ve had a lovely day whether you’ve been romanced, or not.
There’s still a little time to enter my Hotel Chocolat Love Notes giveaway, too…
Ren Behan
Ren Behan is a British-born food writer of Polish descent. She is a mum to two young children (6 and 3) and spends lots of time with them in the kitchen. Ren writes about seasonal, family-friendly food on her blog www.renbehan.com and about Polish food on her site www.mypolishkitchen.co.uk. She also contributes recipes and articles to online and print food publications. Ren holds a Diploma in Food Journalism with Distinction and has completed a Food Styling course at Leiths School of Food and Wine. Full Profile on Google+
These sound absolutely yummy, chocolate and toffee were made for each other:-) Thank you for entering this month’s Credit Crunch Munch!
Thank you Camilla, yes really mine should be toffee and cocoa cupcakes but dulce de leche is the best thing to use which will make them caramel! There isn’t much difference. Looking forward to the round-up x
I’m a sucker for cupcakes….these look lovely Ren I may have to try these!
Have to say while I’m here that I love love your photography too,very professional
Thank you so much Paula, such a lovely comment. I love them too!
wow these look amazing ren! I had an awful valentine’s day, stuck at hoem working on my projects.. wish I had a cupcake or two to cheer me up. oh well, tis all over! hope you had a wonderful day x
Yep all done for another year. I was posting this recipe at 8.30pm or whenever, home too with a poorly husband. It was a very good job I had these cupcakes!
They look wonderful Ren and I love the dusting of cocoa on top
Thanks Jac, simples!
Have heard a lot about the Peggy book although I don’t do fancy baking much these days. Bookmarked for the teens to bake – they like to take cupcakes into school. They become very popular and aren’t tempted to eat too many themselves.
I don’t think I had baked anything since before Christmas! And sadly I felt much better for it. These was quite dainty. There are quite a lot of lovely recipes in the book and I just got a new one too, called Annie Bell’s Baking Bible which looks rather lovely!
These cupcakes look delicious! Lovely blog
Thank you Nicola, have a lovely weekend x
These look wonderful Ren, very tempting!
Thank you so much Andrea, hope you are well x
As I have just said on another blog there is nothing like expressing your love in a home made gift.
Lovely cupcakes! Thank you so much for sending to Credit Crunch Munch!
Thank you Helen, hope you are well! xx
Caramel and cocoa… what’s not to like, seriously?! I haven’t baked cupcakes in an age but feel the urge welling up…
Me too, gotta love a cup cake!
that’s gorgeous ren! too much sinful things in one cupcake but argh too difficult to resist
One little cake won’t hurt…
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