Following on from my GBBO attempt the other week at our department cake sale, my sweet treats were so popular I figured I would revive the recipe portion on this dear blog and share with you how I whipped them up. Recipe, taken from the Primrose Bakery Book, is a surprisingly easy dish to cook considering it delivers deliciously tasting and perfectly formed cupcakes. Initially I made these with just an electric hand whisk and a lotta elbow grease but the second time round I whack out an electric mixer which made the buttercream icing a ease to blend together. To crank up that fancy notch I embraced heart shaped silicon cases like woh but that didn’t stop me from having an icing disaster ;)
Before I get too carried away it’s time to tell you how to whip up a batch all for yourself. Alongside a pretty foolproof recipe you also have a rather minimal ingredients list, you’ve got your standard flour, eggs, butter & sugar teamed with maple syrup and pecan nuts – fuss free and delicious! Time for a breakdown:
- 115g of soft unsalted butter (like I like to cut into cubes)
- 50g of soft brown sugar
- 160ml of maple syrup aka the good stuff
- 2 large eggs
- 115g of sifted self raising flour
- 60g of chopped up pecan nuts
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees/gas mark 4 and line 10 muffin cases. Start by creaming the butter and sugar together, you don’t have a lot of sugar thanks to the maple syrup but this gives a sweat kick whilst keeping the cupcakes moist inside. Add the maple syrup, beat, add each egg individually mixing briefly before folding in the flour followed by the nuts. Mixture done! Cook for 20-25 minutes and then leave to cool once done for the same amount of time.
For the maple syrup buttercream icing all you need it:
- 150g of soft unsalted butter (again cubed)
- 135ml of maple syrup
- 435g of icing sugar
If you have an electric mixer this is the time to use it otherwise expect your kitchen to become utterly covered in icing powder! First beat the butter, maple syrup and half the icing sugar together before slowly adding the remainder to leave you with buttery soft smooth icing. On the first batch I went to town with an icing bag but sadly had little to no luck on this lot! Instead I went for the rustic look and popped a whole pecan nut on top for the finish. Overall these scrumptious cupcakes are quick and easy to make giving a great twist compared to standard vanilla or chocolate.
