Amy-Beth Ellice's toffee apple cupcakes
BY READERS DIGEST
1st Jan 2015 Recipes
These cupcakes, filled with toffee apple jam, are a fun treat for autumn-time and Bonfire Night, resembling toffee apples drenched with gleaming toffee sauce.
17-year-old Amy-Beth Ellice is Britain’s youngest female published cookery author.
This delicious recipe, from her new book, Amy's Baking Year, makes the perfect Halloween treats. Makes 12 cupcakes.
Image via Amy Beth-Ellice
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 175g (6oz) butter
- 175g (6oz) caster sugar
- 175g (6oz) self-raising flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the filling:
- Toffee apple jam (page 150)
- For the toffee sauce:
- 110g (4oz) light muscovado sugar
- 4 tbsp golden syrup
- 110g (4oz) butter
- 4 tbsp double cream
For the toffee buttercream:
- ¼ vanilla pod, seeds only
- 225g (8oz) butter
- 450g (1lb) icing sugar
- 2 tbsp toffee sauce
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
You will need:
- 12 lolly sticks
- Save the vanilla pod
Method
- Prepare the toffee apple jam (page 150).
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cupcake or muffin cases.
- Put the butter, caster sugar, eggs and vanilla extract into the bowl of a free-standing electric mixer (or you can use a handheld electric whisk and mixing bowl). Sift in the flour, lifting your sieve quite high to incorporate air, and beat for 1–2 minutes until light and creamy.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the paper cases and bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden and well risen and a skewer inserted into one of the cakes comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, make a small cut to the tip of a piping bag with scissors. Turn the top half of the bag inside out, and use a spatula to fill it with the toffee apple jam.
- Using an apple corer, make a hole in the centre of the top of each cupcake, being careful not to push the corer through the bottom of the cake.
- Squeeze enough toffee apple jam to fill the hole you have made in each cupcake.
To make the toffee sauce:
- Melt the sugar, syrup and butter in a small saucepan and slowly bring to the boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for about 3 minutes, or until thick.
- Stir in the cream, remove from the heat and leave to cool.
To make the toffee buttercream:
- Slice the vanilla pod in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Save the seeds, and set the pod aside.
- Beat the butter in the bowl of a free-standing electric mixer on medium speed (or you can use a handheld electric whisk and mixing bowl) until creamy.
- Add the vanilla seeds and mix for a few seconds on medium speed.
- In a separate bowl, sift the icing sugar.
- Add the icing sugar to the butter mixture on low speed until it begins to incorporate.
- Warm the toffee sauce (make sure it is warm not hot).
- Add 2 tbsp of the warmed toffee sauce and vanilla extract, and beat at medium speed until fully incorporated.
- Spoon the toffee buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle and swirl it on top of the cupcakes.
- Drizzle with the remaining gleaming, melted and cooled toffee sauce. Transform your cupcakes into toffee apples by inserting a lolly stick into the centre of each cupcake.
