Sunday 6 September 2015

Caramel cupcakes




When in doubt what to bake head to the BBC Goodfood website!  That approach usually comes up trumps and it did this time too with these lovely cupcakes. Mr CC has been reminiscing of late about his long standing love of Caramac.  Therefore, when I saw the decorations required two Caramac bars I knew I would have to buy three to ensure I got the full quota of sprinkles (a bit like in The Simpsons when Marg bakes a decoy pie to satisfy Homer, so that her main pie will survive until dessert time).




The caramel cream cheese frosting is divine – so soft and with a perfect sweet/tangy contrast.  Don’t worry if it seems soft after making it – it will firm up in the fridge.  Give it as long as it needs.  The amount of frosting is more than enough for 12 cupcakes so pipe generously from the first cupcake; I hate it when I’m not sure if I have enough so pipe cautiously and then end up with leftovers.  I did experiment with reducing the sugar in the frosting but the frosting was too soft.  Surprisingly, it isn’t too sweet so don’t let the scary amount of sugar put you off.




The cake batter is stiffer than normal cupcake sponge – don’t be tempted to add milk to slacken it; the batter needs to hold its own against a caramel filling and lots of frosting.




Isn’t caramel a beautiful thing? Here’s the proof:




Now I cannot explain why, but these cupcakes are man pleasers.  Mr CC takes most of my bakes into work for his colleagues (who are exclusively male).  He said these got the most praise he could recall –from the sponge, to the frosting, to the caramac on top.  I am not a dating expert by any means but if you’re looking to bake your way to a man’s heart, this might not be a bad place to start.....






Ingredients

For the cupcakes:
175g unsalted butter, at room temperature
175g light muscovado sugar
2 eggs
175g self raising flour
2 tablespoons milk

For the frosting:
140g Carnation caramel
200g cream cheese – I used Philadelphia
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
450g icing sugar

For the filling and decoration:
250g Carnation caramel i.e. the rest of the tin left over from the frosting
60g Caramac – this equates to 2 bars


Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/ fan oven 160C/350F/gas mark 4.

Line a cupcake pan with 12 paper cases.

Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy – do not skimp on this stage.

Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until well incorporated.

Fold in the flour and the milk.

Spoon into the paper cases and bake for approximately 15-18 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the sponges comes out clean.

Remove from the cupcake pan and leave to cool on a wire rack (NB. It is important to de-tin them straightaway or the heat retained by the metal will continue to bake the cupcakes and can make them tough).

Now make the frosting: place all the ingredients in a bowl and beat until smooth and well combined.

Spoon into a piping bag (choose whichever nozzle you prefer) and refrigerate for about 10 minutes – this will firm the frosting up to a nice pipeable consistency.

Using a cupcake (or apple) corer remove a plug of sponge from each cupcake.

Spoon the remaining caramel into each cupcake.

Pipe the chilled frosting over the top of each sponge.

Refrigerate the cupcakes.

Now make the decoration: cut the two bars of caramac into tiny pieces.

Sprinkle over the top of the cupcakes.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.


Eat.

19 comments:

Sammie said...

I adore Caramacs and these cupcakes are my kind of treat. Absolutely yummy. Sammie www.feastingisfun.com

Snowy said...

These look so delicious, and I love Caramac. Definitely one to make.

Anonymous said...

so lovely made cupcakes

Angie's Recipes said...

Caramel!!! My husband would be crazy for these beauties.

Jo said...

A man's cupcake... so that's where I'm going wrong. I need to carry a tin of caramel cupcakes with me on nights out! Haha

Seriously though, these sound so good. Anything caramel flavoured gets a big thumbs up from me.

Anonymous said...

These look so tasty! Reminds me I haven't had caramac for a while yum...

Janine said...

You know I'm not sure I've eaten a caramac... maybe I should. Thanks for the dating advice too! ;)

Cakelaw said...

Yum! Love caramel, love these cupcakes.

sensibilia said...

I do like to see a man enjoying cake! It's what they should do.... along with polishing their shoes with brushes, and such old-fashioned pleasures!

Marcelle said...

Caramel is one of my favorite things! These looks incredibly delicious!

Anonymous said...

I really want to make these cupcakes. I haven't tried caramac but I LOVE caramel. My mouth was literally watering while reading this post! Can't wait to get baking, they look like party cupcakes so pretty and elegant.

Gluten Free Alchemist said...

I love Caramac. Ever since I saw a post on Cakeyboi the other week I have been trying to find the Caramac buttons he spoke of... I can't find them, but I am on a mission.
I love filled cupcakes too.... these sound so so good. Especially with the caramel cream cheese frosting x

Anonymous said...

Oh my these have me weak at the knees. They look absolutely yummy. You know I love Caramac with a passion, grew up in the stuff. But you can't get them here in the UAE :( Do you think Milky Bar would be a decent substitute?
Lovely post
From Roze :)

The Caked Crusader said...

Hi Roze

I think any chocolate bar would work - maybe something like crunchie or caramel galaxy in particular
Happy baking!

Cakeyboi said...

This freaks me out! I have just mades something with Caramac too - your cupcakes look heavenly CC.

Maggie said...

I too always head to the BBC for a dose of inspiration. Lovely bake using Caramac.

Choclette said...

Ooh Caramac, I didn't know they still made it. And I am with you on the caramel love - wonderful stuff.

J said...

I just tried to subscribe by email to you but can't b/c it says it's not properly installed. Could you please fix it when you have a moment. Thanks! Then I can get your updates.

Pauline C said...

I'm determined to have a go at these ... And I can tell you where I spotted both Caramac buttons and 3-packs of Caramac bars ... B&M :-) yum!