This is definitely the cupcake that you will want to shove in your face this Autumn. I made these for a charity cake-stall and they flew off the plate. They taste very
autumnal with warm fudgy flavours and the dates in the
sponge make it nice and moist, as well as surprisingly light
and fluffy. You can top them with toffee pieces, fudge
chunks, or even drizzle a toffee sauce over the top.
Ingredients:
For the cake:
180g chopped, pitted dates
180ml boiling water
80g unsalted butter, softened
pinch of salt
150g soft light brown sugar
2 large eggs
180g plain flour
0.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the icing:
160g unsalted butter, softened
500g golden icing sugar
50ml milk
100g dulce de leche or tinned caramel
mini chunks of vanilla fudge, to decorate
Put the chopped dates in a bowl and cover with the boiling water.
Leave to soak for around 20 minutes until they are soft and squishy.
While the dates are soaking, preheat the oven to 190C/
170C fan oven and line a 12-hole muffin tin with
cases
Beat together the butter and
sugar until soft and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix
well after each addition.
Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarb into a separate bowl and
add to the butter/sugar/egg mixture in three batches, mixing until
just combined after each addition. Once all the
flour has been added, whisk the mixture until smooth. Add the
vanilla to the date mixture and then stir this into the cake
mixture by hand.
Fill the cupcake cases about two-thirds full of mixture. Bake for
16-20 minutes or until a scewer comes out clean. Allow the
cakes to cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring to
a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cakes are cooling, make the icing. Mix together the butter
and icing sugar by hand (if you use the whisk at this point you will
get covered in icing sugar!). Continue in a half-arsed manner until
the sugar and butter is somewhat combined, then add the milk and
happily whisk away until smooth. Mix in the the dulce de leche, ice
the cupcakes, sprinkle with the fudge pieces and stuff your face.
If I use ready to eat dates (packaged) do I still need to soak them & if not will I need to add some extra liquid?
ReplyDeleteThanks
Hi! Yes you will still need to soak them is this makes them nice and soft and almost turns them into a paste.
DeleteCheers! - Loving your website, most of the sites I come across are American & I have to translate the cup measures into grams & also they tend to use ingredients we don't have over here.
ReplyDeleteKath
Finally got round to making these yesterday - well impressed, what a great recipe, not too sweet, nice & light & the recipe makes 12 good sized cakes -thank you!
ReplyDelete