Banofffee Pup Cakes
Makes 12
Oven temp 200c, 400f, gas mark 6
170g Stork baking margarine
170g Caster sugar
100g Self raising flour
70g Banana chip flour (Grape Tree health food shop)
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
Method
1. Cream butter/margarine and sugar together in bowl. Can be done in an electrical mixer, or again-muscles optional!
2. Gradually add eggs until well mixed.
3. Sieve in self raising and banana flour and baking powder.
5. Stir in 2 tablespoons of milk.
6. Divide mixture between 12 cupcake cases and pop in the pre-heated oven for about 15-20 minutes. Check cupcakes halfway through. The cupcakes are ready when the tops are springy to touch.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Banoffee Pie buttercream
250g unsalted butter softened
500g icing sugar
2 teaspoons Banoffee Pie flavouring (cupcake world-online)
Buttercream Method
1. Beat butter until light in colour and lovely and fluffy.
2. Gradually add icing sugar and beat for a further 5 minutes
3. Add flavouring, just a little at a time until you get the flavour you want.
Caramel sauce
60g unsalted butter
60g caster sugar
50ml full fat milk
Caramel Sauce Method
1. Butter and sugar in a pan and heat very slowly stirring constantly. Don’t allow to boil!
2. Add milk and simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
3. Allow to cool as this thickens the sauce.
Before I run through the assembly of these delicious little beauties, who would like to hear about my excitement since my last chatter? Yes? Lovely! Well, I have a new baking gadget! A beautiful, shiny, purple Kitchenaid mixer! Oh my!!! Now all you lovely bakers out there will totally get my level of delight at this new addition, everyone else…well, not so much! It’s an amazing piece of machinery! Or should I say she is? I’ve named her Poppy! Poppy the purple monster! And does she make short work of making buttercream! Gushing aside, Kitchenaid is the top end of the market product, so be extra sure baking is for you before you take out a mahoosive loan to purchase one!
Anyhoo, getting back to the job in hand, putting together all parts you have lovingly created.
After allowing the pupcakes to cool and the caramel sauce to thicken, you want to core out the centre of the sponges. Now you can get various cupcake coring gadgets to do this but my preference is using a little sharp knife, cutting a circle cone shape into the cupcakes and put to one side.
Using another nifty little baking gadget AKA, a teaspoon! Spoon a little of the caramel sauce into the hole you’ve made in each cupcake and pop the cut ‘cone’ sponge back in the hole. And as before, using your beautifully fluffy buttercream, piping bag and nozzles, decorate to your hearts content! I finished off the decorating with chopped up vanilla fudge sprinkled on top of the buttercream. Have fun and enjoy having a go yourself!
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Last few tips…
1. You don’t have to go all out looking for banana chip flour, if you have difficulty finding some just use the whole flour allowance in Self raising flour and leave out the baking powder.
2. Remember squishy room temperature butter for your buttercream beaten to within an inch of its life!
3. If your caramel sauce is reluctant to thicken, add a couple of tablespoons of icing sugar to give it a little helping hand, or make it the day before and pop it in the fridge overnight.
4. The measurements for the caramel sauce make quite a sizeable amount, you will have leftovers. Don’t throw it away! Make more yummy cupcakes or use it to pore over ice cream.
So in the tradition of the marvelous Great British Bake Off…On your marks…get set…BAKE!
