food

StickyToffee
Apples
TAKES 20 MINUTES
SERVES 8
• Wash and dry 8 braeburn apples 2813,
Insert a wooden stick or fork through
each core
• Heat 500g demerara sugar, 75g butter
9717, 225g golden syrup 8988, 2 tsp
vinegar and 150ml Water in a saucepan
and stir until the sugar dissolves. Let it
boil until the mixture reaches 143C
degrees C if you don’t have a sugar
thermometer drop a little mixture into
a glass of cold water, if it instantly
hardens you’ve got toffee
• Dunk each apple into toffee and twist.
Dip the bottoms into nuts, then leave
to cool on a sheet of greaseproof
paper.
TOP
TIP
You can also do
miniature apple
balls by spooning
out from the apple
Apple Cupcakes
For the apple cupcakes
1. 3 large Bramley cooking apples,
peeled, cored and roughly chopped
30889
2. 3 tbsp caster sugar 9024
3. 1 tbsp water
4. 1 tsp vanilla extract 9434
5. 115g unsalted butter, room
temperature 9717
6. 150g dark brown sugar 1402
7. 100g caster sugar 9024
8. 2 large eggs, room temperature
9. 1 tsp vanilla extract
10. 225g plain flour 4300
11. 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 3479
12. 1 ½ tsp cinnamon 5923
13. 1/2 tsp salt
For the toffee cream
cheese frosting
1. 120g unsalted butter, c ubed 9717
2. 120g dark brown sugar 1402
3. 120ml double cream 7220
4. 500g icing sugar, sifted 1918
5. 280g cream cheese
6. 1 tsp salt
Instructions
1. To make the cupcakes, start off by
stewing the apples. In a small saucepan,
gently heat the diced apple, sugar, vanilla
and water on a medium heat, stirring
occasionally, until the apple is soft and
starting to disintegrate and become fluffy.
This should take around 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/gas
mark 3. Prepare a 12 hole muffin tin by
lining with paper cases.
3. To make the cupcakes, in a large bowl,
using an electric mixer, beat the butter,
brown and white sugars together until
they're light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time and the vanilla
extract, beating well after each addition
until fully combined. Scrape down the
sides of the bowl as required.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the
flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt
until well combined.
5. Add one third of the dry ingredients to
the butter mixture and mix until *just*
combined, then add half of the cooled
stewed apple and again mix until just
combined. Add another third of the flour
mixture, again beating until just
combined, then add the rest of the stewed
and beat. Finish off by adding the last of
the flour mixture and stir until just
combined. Overbeating at this stage will
cause glutens in the flour to form, giving
you a dry, tough sponge. You might find it
helpful to use a wooden spoon or hand
held whisk to mix if this helps you avoid
overmixing.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared
paper cases, filling the cases to two thirds
full.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the
cupcakes are lightly golden and the
sponge springs back when lightly touched.
You can check by inserting a toothpick into
the centre of a cupcake - if it comes out
clean, they're done. Remove from the
oven and place on a heatproof surface.
Allow the cupcakes to cool in the tin for 10
minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to
cooling completely before frosting.
8. While the cupcakes are baking, you can
make the toffee sauce for the frosting and
decorative drizzle. Melt the butter and
sugar together in a small saucepan over a
low heat, stirring continuously until the
butter has melted and the sugar has
dissolved. Continue to heat until the
mixture starts to bubble up (1-2 minutes).
Add the double cream and stir until
combined. Don't worry if the mixture spits
up a little at this point. Keep stirring for
another minute or two until the sauce has
thickened and coats the back of a wooden
spoon. Remove from the heat and allow to
cool completely, stirring occasionally.
9. To make the frosting, pour three
quarters (3/4) of the cooled toffee sauce
into a large bowl. Put the remaining one
quarter aside for now. Using an electric
mixer on a low speed, beat in the icing
sugar a third at a time until combined and
smooth. Add in the cream cheese and salt
and beat until combined. Turn the speed
to medium/high and beat for 3-4 minutes
until the frosting is light and fluffy.
10. To frost the cupcakes, fit a piping bag
with a star nozzle, fill with frosting and swirl
on top of the cupcakes. Once all the
cupcakes are frosted, you can drizzle the
remaining toffee sauce decoratively over
each of the cupcakes using a piping bag
with a writing nozzle, or using a teaspoon.
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