Cuckoo’s Bakery Sticky Toffee Pudding Cupcakes

For the butterscotch sauce:

• Place all the ingredients in to a saucepan and, over a medium heat, stir until combined and boiling. Place to the side to cool.

For the sponge:

• Cream the butter and sugar until soft and pale in a food mixer or with a hand held mixer for around 2 minutes.

• Add the beaten egg a little at a time until combine, then add the golden syrup and treacle and continue to blend until smooth.
• Next, sift the flour and baking powder on top of the mixture and beat, again at low speed, for one minute or until combined.
• Finally, blend the pitted dates and boiling water in a food processor for 2 minutes until smooth. Stir the bicarbonate of soda in to the date mixture.
• Add the date mixture to the cake mix and blend together with a metal spoon until combined.
• Divide the batter between 12 cupcake cases in a muffin tin and bake in a fan oven at 180C for 22 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the cupcakes on a wire rack to cool down.

To fill:

• Once the cakes have cooled, use an apple corer to remove the centre of the sponge and fill each cupcake with the cooled butterscotch sauce.

For the buttercream:

• Cream the butter, at a medium speed, preferably with a hand mixer or food mixer until soft and pale – around 2 to 3 minutes.
• Sift the icing sugar on top of the mixture and blend on a medium speed on your mixer for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, add the vanilla extract and continue to blend for one more minute.

To decorate:

• Use a palette knife or piping bag, frost each cooled cupcake with vanilla buttercream.
• Decorate the cupcakes by drizzling with butterscotch sauce and enjoy!