Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Remember a few years ago when the world went mad for salted caramel?

Yeah…well I’m still not over it.

I think my addiction started at uni, when a caramel macchiato was the only thing that would revive my cold, tired, literature-filled heart. But hey, I digress.

Just a quick note: dark soft brown sugar is a must. If you use caster or light soft brown sugar you just won’t get that dark caramel flavour from the molasses.

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 170g unsalted butter
• 140g dark soft brown sugar
• 3 large free-range eggs
• 170g self raising flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp milk

For the salted caramel icing:

• 115g unsalted butter
• 200g dark soft brown sugar
• 100ml double cream
• ½ tsp salt
• 250g icing sugar
• salted pretzels to decorate

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC and line a 12 hole muffin case with 12 cases.
2. Either by hand, or in a mixer, make the cupcakes by creaming together the butter and sugar.
3. Beat the eggs together and gradually mix into the creamed butter and sugar until well incorporated. Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt.
4. Add the vanilla extract and milk and gently beat again until the mixture is looser, but not runny.
5. Fill your muffin cases until they are each two-thirds full. Place in the middle of the oven and bake for around 15 minutes until a skewer comes out clean, then place onto a cooling rack.
6. While the cupcakes are cooling, make the icing by melting the butter in a small saucepan on a medium heat.
7. Add the sugar and 80ml of the double cream and stir constantly on a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and feels less grainy. Now add the salt and stir again.
8. Allow the sauce to bubble for 3 mins exactly (seriously, put a timer on!). While it is bubbling, fill a large bowl with cold water.
9. When the timer has stopped, take the pan off the heat and plunge it into the bowl of cold water. This will stop the sauce from burning – be careful not to get any water in the sauce though. Leave it to cool for approx. 15 mins.
10. Pour ¾ of the sauce into a medium mixing bowl and place a sheet of clingfilm directly on top of the remaining sauce so it doesn’t form a skin.
11. Using an electric whisk, beat in the icing sugar a little at a time until you have a thick icing that drops gently from the spoon (you might not need all the icing sugar). Don’t worry if the icing starts to go into big lumps. Simply add a dash of the double cream and beat until it returns to the dropping consistency.
12. Taste the icing at this stage – you may want to add a touch more salt.
13. Spoon the icing onto your cooled cupcakes, or pipe it on if you’re feeling fancy. Then top with a drizzle of the remaining caramel sauce and a salted pretzel!