Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes

I absolutely LOVE caramel, so, when Mam arrived home from the supermarket with a few tins of condensed milk I had to make something delicious with it. I always tend to go for Millionaire's Squares or Banoffee, but this time I was adamant to try something else. Mam has been raving about these Caramel Cupcakes she saw on Bakery Boss, so, I decided to try something new and invent my own Chocolate Caramel Cupcake. Despite what you may think, the cupcakes aren't heavy in the slightest. Both the sponge and the butter cream are light and airy which allows for the devilish caramel.

Ingredients

MAKES 12 CUPCAKES

FOR THE CAKE MIX

225g Butter (softened)

225g Caster Sugar

225g Self Raising Flour (sieved)

2-3 tbsp Cocoa Powder

4 Eggs

FOR THE CARAMEL

1 x 397g tin of Condensed Milk

1 tbsp Golden Syrup

50g Brown Sugar

30g Butter

FOR THE CHOCOLATE BUTTER CREAM

150g Butter

300g Icing Sugar

50g Dark Chocolate (melted)

2 tsp Boiling Water

Method

FOR THE CAKE MIX

1) Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4 and line your muffin tray with bun cases

2) Cream the butter and sugar together in the electric mixer

3) Once a pale colour, add in the eggs, one at a time and continue to beat

4) Once combined, add the sieved flour, one spoon at a time as you beat

5) Then add the cocoa powder in beat again until all ingredients are combined

6) Put 1-2 spoons of the mix into each bun case and place in the oven for approximately 15 mins until the cupcakes are firm and spring up when touched

7) Leave to cool on a wire tray while you get to work on the caramel and the butter cream

FOR THE CARAMEL

Firstly, you can cheat a little and buy a tin of caramel - it works just as well.

 But if you feel like going all out follow these simple steps...

1) Melt the butter and sugar together in a pan over a low heat

2) When combined, add in the golden syrup and the condensed milk and stir continuously

3) Bring the mixture to the boil and then allow it to simmer for approx. 5 mins until it becomes thicker

4) Fill a piping bag with the caramel and stick the nozzle into each bun and squeeze

5) Then leave the buns to sit and use any left over caramel for decoration later

FOR THE CHOCOLATE BUTTER CREAM

1) Cream the butter and icing sugar together in the electric mixer (be patient this may take a while)

2) When light and fluffy, add in the melted dark chocolate, one tsp at a time and beat 

3) When combined, add the boiling water, again, a small amount at a time and beat

4) Using your piping bag, pipe the butter cream onto each of the cupcakes, covering the caramel

5) After making sure that the leftover caramel is cool, you can drizzle a small amount over each of the cupcakes for a nice effect.

ENJOY