Banoffee Cupcakes

These are delicious! The caramel oozes out on the first bite so maybe warn people before they tuck in. It was a pleasure making these for my godmother's birthday party two weeks ago and they went down really well with the guests. As far as the banana crisps and fudge pieces go, they are completely optional, however they add additional dimension to these beautiful treats.

Makes 12-16

Cook time: 1 hour

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus chilling)

Ingredients:

Cupcakes -

150g butter

260g golden caster sugar

3 bananas

3 eggs

A few drops of banana essence (optional)

335g self-raising flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

3-5 tbsp milk (optional)

Filling -

200g carnation caramel

Buttercream -

150g soft butter

300g icing sugar, sifted

Few drops of banana extract (optional)

100g fudge pieces

12-16 banana crisps

Method:

1. Start with the cake batter; preheat the oven to 160C and put the bananas on a baking tray. Bake them for 20-30 minutes until the skins are blackened and the flesh softened and allow to cool.

2. Beat the butter and caster sugar in your stand mixer bowl until creamy. Add the cooled banana flesh and banana essence (if using) and beat again.

3. Crack the eggs into a jug and whisk briefly. With the stand mixer running slowly pour the eggs in and beat until completely mixed.

4. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold into the batter. Add a few tablespoons of milk to loosen the mixture if it feels stiff.

5. Arrange the cupcake cases in a 12 hole cupcake tray. Ideally decant the batter into a piping bag and pipe the mix into the cases to ¾ full (you may have a little more mix than you need for 12 cupcakes so you can make a few more). You can spoon it in but it can get a bit messy. Tap the tray to settle the mix. Pop it into the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool completely while you make the icing.

6. For the icing, beat the butter in the stand mixer until creamy. Sift the icing sugar into a separate bowl and add it tothe butter a tablespoon or two at a time. Add a few drops of banana essence (if using) and beat until everything is mixed.

7. Put a star-shaped piping nozzle in a piping bag and cut the tip off so that the nozzle fits tightly. Put in the fridge for 15-30 minutes to firm up slightly.

8. Using an apple corer (or a small knife) cut a hole in the centre of each cupcake to about ½ half the depth. Put the carnation caramel into another piping bag and cut a small tip off. Insert this into the hole and gently fill the cupcakes, scraping away any extra.

9. Remove the icing from the fridge and ice the cakes, working from the outside inwards. Sprinkle over the fudge pieces and top with a banana crisp.