Another one for the wedding...hopefully. I did a sticky toffee pudding for Christmas, and decided that it would be a great flavour to add to the wedding pile. I've tweaked and adapted the recipe to better suit a room temperature cake, as opposed to a warm pudding served in a bowl. I served the pudding at Christmas with salted caramel ice-cream, so decided that I'd use at as the icing. It was finalised with a couple of chunks of fudge.
Generally, pretty happy with this. A few tweaks need to be done;
1) The toffee sauce needs to go in when the cake is cool (or perhaps even cold?), but the sauce is still warm. This will stop it seeping through to the paper. I want to try chilling the cake, then filling it fridge-cold.
2) I didn't replace the plugs of cake, and I think I should...this will alter the icing:cake ratio slightly in the favour of cake, which I think is needed
3) A bit more cake in the case. I did my default of 50g of mixture, and this recipe made 15 (possibly 16, but it's a wet mixture, so getting it into the cases was "fun"). It doesn't rise as much as normal cake, so probably 60g each is better. Again, this will improve the icing:cake ratio.
These changes will be in the recipe below, so when I make these again I won't forget the changes!
A lot of this recipe can be done ahead of time...the fudge pieces, the toffee sauce and the caramel sauce can (and probably should) be done a day or two in advance, then stored until needed.
Sticky Toffee Cupcakes - Recipe (makes 12)
Fudge
You don't need too much of this. Make a batch of vanilla fudge, and then cut out 24 cubes of it (bout 7-8mm a side) to decorate the top. This can be done a day or so in advance, and stored somewhere cool and dry.
Caramel Sauce Ingredients
- 100g caster sugar
- 60g double cream
- 30g butter
Note - this can be done in advance (it fact it's preferable to, as you need this at room temperature). Store it in the fridge, and leave it out to get to room temperature a few hours before you make the cakes.
1) P
lace the sugar in a medium sized pan. Ensure the pan is very clean (always do this when you at working with sugar)
lace the sugar in a medium sized pan. Ensure the pan is very clean (always do this when you at working with sugar)
2) Put the pan over a medium heat, and leave until the sugar starts to melt
3) Using a clean spatula, gently mix the sugar until it has all melted and achieved a deep golden colour
4) Add the butter and stir vigorously (it will bubble a lot) until everything is thoroughly combined and smooth
5) Remove from the heat and stir in the cream until fully mixed and smooth
6) Transfer to a clean bowl and leave to cool completely. Store in the fridge, and allow to return to room temperature before using. If you need this cool quickly, pour it onto a plate, spread it out and pop it in the fridge.
Toffee Sauce Ingredients
- 200g dark muscavado sugar
- 100g butter
- 15ml black treacle
- 130g double cream
Note - once again this can be done in advance, stored, and then re-heated when needed. I found this was easier to use from a jug, so I'd recommend putting it in a jug and re-heating it in a microwave (do 10 second bursts and stir it until it is fluid enough to pour and soak into the cake)
1) Place the butter, sugar and black treacle into a small saucepan
2) Place over a low heat and stir until the butter is melted
3) Increase to a medium heat and continue to stir until the sugar mas melted, and everything is combined.
4) Stir in the cream
5) Continue to stir until the mixture boils. As soon as it starts,
remove from the heat. If storing, place in a heatproof bowl and leave to cool completely.
Sponge Ingredients
- 200g soft pitted dates (bagged ones are fine, you just want soft-dried one)
- 200g kettle-hot water
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 75g butter
- 30ml (2 x 15tbsp) black treacle
- 50g dark muscavado sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 170g self-raising flour
1) Pre-heat the oven to 160'C
2) Chop the dates (I chopped each date into 8 bits) and place in a large bowl
3) Pour the water over the dates, and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Leave to soak for at least 10 minutes
4) Place the butter, sugar and treacle in a stand mixer with a creaming paddle attachment
5) Mix thoroughly until very soft and combined. You will need to scrape down th
e sides a few times
e sides a few times
6) Beat in the 2 eggs one at a time, mixing each in as thoroughly as possible.
7) Gently fold in the flour until combined and smooth
8) Pour in the soaked dates (including the water) and mix in. You should end up with a thick, runny batter
9) Spoon ~60g of the batter into 12 cupcake/muffin cases in a 12-tin tray.
11) Remove to a wire rack to cool.
12) Using a cupcake corer, remove a cavity of about 1cm in depth from the middle of each cake.
Salted Caramel Buttercream Ingredients
- 150g butter
- 150g icing sugar
- 1 batch of caramel sauce (see above)
- 0.5 - 1tsp salt (to taste)
1) Place the butter and icing sugar in a stand mixer with the creaming paddle attachment
2) Beat thoroughly until smooth
3) Add the caramel sauce and salt, and mix until very smooth
4) Transfer to a piping bag with a semi-open star nozzle
Assembly
1) Pour approximately 2tsp of the toffee sauce into each cake via the cavity
2) Replace the plugs into each cavity
3) Pipe a generous swirl of the buttercream on top of each cake
4) Place a couple of chunks of the fudge onto each cake to decorate