Inspired by the myriad of apple related produce I drooled over on my recent visit to the Bramley Apple Festival in Southwell, Nottingham I thought I would share with you the recipe for my Toffee Apple Cupcakes.
A treat to eat, these cupcakes give it a good go at being the taste of Autumn. Full of sticky caramelised apples and a gentle hint of cinnamon, they are so comforting, they may as well wrap you in a big blanket and serve you up copious amounts of hot chocolate… who do I go to to make this happen?
Anyway, I have added some of my own animated images to help guide you along the way that also aim to show off how god damn tasty these cakes look. Tip – If you find you have leftover apple mixture like I did, it goes deliciously well with pancakes if you’re not already overwhelmed by sugar, spice and all things nice.
Toffee Apple Centre
· 50g Butter
· 4 Bramley Apples – cut into small chunks.
· 2 Teaspoons Cornflour
· 125ml Cold Water
· 75g Dark Brown Soft Sugar
· 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
Dissolve cornflour in water; add to the pan full of apple and stir instantly. Add in brown sugar. Cook until mixture starts to get thicker and sticky like caramel. Leave to one side to cool.
Cake Batter
· 150g (5 oz) Unsalted Butter, softened
· 150g (5 oz) Light Muscovado Sugar
· 175g (6 oz) Self Raising Flour
· 3 Eggs
· 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
· 2 Teaspoons of Ground Cinnamon
Line a 12 section muffin tray with paper cake cases. Cream the butter and sugar together and add vanilla extract. Sieve the flour and cinnamon into the mixture and add the eggs and beat with a hand-held mixer until it’s a smooth consistency. Divide the mixture evenly among the cake cases.
Bake in a preheated oven 180c (350f) gas mark 4, for 18-20 minutes until risen and just firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, core out the centre of each cake and place to one side, add the apple mixture into the cake hole and place cored sponge back inside.
Buttercream
· 150g (5 oz) Unsalted Butter
· 250g (8oz) Icing Sugar
· 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
· Toffee/Caramel Sauce to taste
Beat butter and icing sugar until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla extract, mix and then pour in toffee/caramel sauce to taste, you could also add a little dash of colouring here if you’re after a more Autumnal look.
Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes and add more caramel sauce when serving or any decoration you feel will go well with the cake such as fudge pieces. Now stuff your own cake hole. Go on. No one’s watching.
Cat Photo of the Day: Rory staring out into the neighbours garden, probably planning on how he can get rid their cat à la Tony Soprano.
Song of the Day: Childish Gambino – Redbone / Me and Your Mama
Currently Watching: Stranger Things (S2) and Mr Robot (S3)
Film Gif: Young Frankenstein (1974)
Snacks and Cats 