Cupcakes are one the easiest snacks to make on a whim; you probably have all the ingredients already in your cupboard and there isn’t really a great deal of finesse to the method. Because it’s such a basic recipe, it’s easy to add your own touches. The caramel makes the cakes taste treacly and gooey. If you have any sauce left over, save it to drizzle on top. I made the recipe for these caramel cupcakes a few weeks ago for the hummingbird bakery/emerald street competition and whilst it wasn’t a winning recipe, I still think it deserves some love! So here they are, my caramel cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.

Cake Ingredients: Frosting Ingredients:

2 eggs 4 tbsp peanut butter

50g butter 100g icing sugar

50g caramel sauce (see recipe here) A splash of milk (if you need it)

100g caster sugar

100g self raising flour

1 pinch of salt

½ tsp vanilla essence

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Cream the butter and sugar and then, one at a time, add the eggs. Mix in the caramel sauce and vanilla essence, then sift in the flour and add the salt. Stir until thoroughly combined and then spoon into cupcake cases until about half full. This recipe makes 8-10 cakes. Bake for 10-12 minutes and then leave to cool on a tray.

Whilst they cool, prepare the frosting. The best method is to scoop one tablespoon of peanut butter and then add a little icing sugar a little at a time, until the consistency and taste suit you. This means lots of tasting! Add the milk if the mixture gets too lumpy and needs to be thinned. If you are using crunchy peanut butter, you will probably want to add a little. Pipe or spread with a spoon on top of your cupcakes and you’re good to go!