Mini bakes, maximum indulgence!

By Jennifer Downman (Instagram @Jennywrenbakes)

CUPCAKE SPECIAL

Individual sticky toff ee pudding cakes with salted caramel sauce

Decorate with apple crisps!

MAKES 10

For the sponge

200g (7oz) unsalted butter

250g (9oz) dark muscovado sugar

100g (3½oz) black treacle

100g (3½oz) golden syrup

200ml (7floz) whole milk

2 large free-range eggs

250g (9oz) plain flour

1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the salted caramel sauce

250ml (9floz) double cream

1 tbsp black treacle

150g (5½oz) demerara sugar

100g (3½oz) unsalted butter

1 tsp coarse sea salt

To decorate

1-2 Pink Lady® apples

½ tbsp lemon juice

½ tbsp clear honey

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Grease ten x 7.5cm (3in) individual cake tins.

2 For the toffee sponge, melt the butter with the sugar, golden syrup and treacle in a large pan. Heat and stir gently until the sugar has dissolved.

3 While whisking the hot mixture, slowly pour the milk into the saucepan and beat in the eggs until well combined. Sift the remaining dry ingredients over the pan, using an electric hand whisk on a low setting to combine the mixture. This helps to prevent pockets of flour.

4 Divide the mixture evenly among the pans, then bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

5 Remove the cakes from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 10-15 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. If necessary, trim the tops of the cakes so they are the same height.

6 To make the salted caramel sauce, put the cream, sugar, treacle and butter into a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Boil on a high heat for 10-15 minutes until it thickens (it will thicken more once cooled), then add a generous amount of coarse sea salt.

7 Pour the sauce over the cakes until it drips down the sides. Decorate with dried apple crisps or fudge pieces.

8 To make apple crisps: Cut a Pink Lady® apple in half then, using a mandoline, cut it into thin slices. Place on a lined baking sheet. Mix the lemon juice and honey together, then brush over both sides of the slices. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 140°C/Gas Mark 1, until lightly golden. Check frequently to make sure they are drying evenly.

TIP!

I used Silverwood individual round mini cake pans for uniformity, but these work just as well in muffin tins or cake cases.

Butterfly cakes

TOPPED WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE BUTTONS SMOTHERED IN HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS

MAKES APPROX. 20

For the cupcakes

175g (6oz) unsalted butter, softened

175g (6oz) golden caster sugar

finely grated zest of 1 orange

3 medium free-range eggs, plus 1 egg yolk

50ml (2floz) whole milk

175g (6oz) plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

For the decoration

250g (9oz) mascarpone

1 tsp vanilla extract

25g (1oz) golden syrup

10g (¼oz) icing sugar, sifted

Little extras

50g (1¾oz) white chocolate, broken into pieces

hundreds and thousands

1 Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5. Cream the butter and sugar in a food processor until almost white. Incorporate the orange zest, eggs and yolk, then the milk, and continue beating until homogenised. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Sift the dry ingredients twice then fold them, one-third at a time, into the butter mixture.

2 Fill 20 fairy cake paper cases set inside two fairy cake trays about half-full with the cake mixture, using up all of it, and bake for 20 minutes. The lower tray may take a few minutes longer. Remove and leave them to cool in the trays.

3 To make the icing, spoon the mascarpone into a bowl and beat in the vanilla extract, then the syrup and finally the icing sugar. Place the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water and gently melt it.

4 Using a small, sharp knife, cut out a shallow cone from the centre of each cake and halve it to form two butterfly wings. Fill the cavity of each cake with the vanilla cream.

5 Shake some hundreds and thousands into a small bowl. Dip the curved tips of the butterfly wings into the melted chocolate, then into the hundreds and thousands.

6 Set them into the vanilla cream at an angle, tips uppermost. Set aside in a cool place.

7 If keeping longer than a few hours, store in an airtight container.

TIP You could simply fill the cakes, and dust the wings with icing sugar for a classic simple butterfly bun. You can use buttercream instead of mascarpone cream if you like.

Vanilla cupcakes

MAKES APPROX. 15

For the cupcakes

110g (3¾oz) plain flour

110g (3¾oz) golden caster sugar