Tasty Toffee Apple Cupcakes
These scrumptious, sticky cupcakes are a deliciously simple treat for the apple-picking season. Best served with a steaming cup of tea or hot mulled cider on a crisp autumn afternoon, they make a fun alternative to the traditional Halloween toffee apples too!
Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 18 mins
Serves 12 people
Ingredients
- 170g salted butter, softened
- 170g soft brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 large FREE eggs
- 120g self-raising flour
- 50g ground almonds
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 180g apple, cored and finely diced (no need to peel)
- FOR THE TOFFEE SAUCE
- 50g salted butter
- 75g soft brown sugar
- 75ml double cream
- FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
- 1 tbsp toffee sauce (see above)
- 100g salted butter, softened
- 300g icing sugar
- TO SERVE
- 15g apples crisps, optional
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
- Place the butter, sugar, vanilla and spices in a large bowl and beat together using a wooden spoon until light and fluffy.
- Crack in the eggs and whisk briefly into the butter sugar mixture until combined – don’t worry if the mixture looks a little scrambled at this stage.
- Sieve in the self-raising flour, almonds and baking powder and fold into the buttery egg mixture to form a thick, smooth batter. Add the diced apple to the bowl and fold through the batter.
- Line a 12-hole muffin tin with the paper liners and spoon equal amounts of the batter into each case. Place it in the pre-heated oven for 15 - 18 minutes until golden, risen and cooked through. Set aside to cool.
- In the meantime, make the toffee sauce. In a heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and sugar gently over a low heat. Once melted and starting to bubble at the edges, carefully pour in the cream and stir well to combine. Gently bubble for a further 1 minute before removing from the heat and allow to fully cool – the sauce will thicken with cooling.
- For the buttercream, place all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat together using a wooden spoon until light and creamy. Spoon onto the cooled cakes, using the back of a spoon to spread it out and make a small indentation in the top of the buttercream to help catch the toffee sauce.
- Add a generous drizzle of the cooled toffee sauce and finish the cakes with a crumble of apple crisps. Spoon any leftover toffee sauce into an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
