Maple Pecan Cupcakes

These were my very first cupcakes created from my own recipe, as part of a box set called Jazz Cakes. This consists of two Whisper Nut (maple pecan sponge with maple buttercream), two Someday My Mints Will Come (chocolate sponge with peppermint buttercream) and two Mousse the Mooche (chocolate sponge with chocolate mousse icing).

I started with a recipe for ginger cake and changed the sugar, added maple syrup and, of course, the toasted pecans, to make a cake that is almost a muffin and could probably be eaten without any icing. The taste I was going for was dark and rich like maple syrup but not too overwhelmingly sweet like a treacle tart. My trusty taste-testers all raved about it (even the nut-haters) and they have sold extremely well this week!

Ingredients

200g unsalted butter, room temperature

175g light soft brown sugar

3 tablespoons maple syrup

150ml semi-skimmed milk, room temperature

2 large eggs, free-range, beaten

300g self-raising flour, sifted

1/2 tablespoon nutmeg

1/2 tablespoon mixed spice

Pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g pecans

Method

First, lightly toast the pecans in the oven. They shouldn't take more than five minutes. Cool on a plate and roughly chop.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C (160C fan oven) / 350F / gas mark 4 and line your muffin trays with cupcake cases.

Melt the butter, sugar and maple syrup in a pan on a low heat, stirring slowly and continuously. As soon as you have a dark, smooth syrup, take off the heat and put to one side.

Add the pecans to the beaten eggs and add to the syrup mixture with the vanilla, combining thoroughly.

Sift the flour, spices and salt and add to the warm mixture, combining thoroughly.

Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases (I use a dessert spoon or an ice cream scoop but a jug would work really well with this thin mixture). Fill about 2/3 of each case. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Test with a cake tester, a skewer (should come out clean) or gently press the top of the cake (it should spring back).

Maple Buttercream Icing

The buttercream I make is called American buttercream (as opposed to Swiss, Italian, French...) and does not use eggs, as the others do. It can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days or if you're worried you can refrigerate it. Make sure you bring it back to room temperature before using.

Ingredients

110g unsalted butter, room temperature

350g icing sugar (or more or less to taste)

1 tsp vanilla extract

A splash of milk roughly equal to 1 tsp

Maple Syrup (to taste)

Beat all ingredients together, adding the icing sugar and maple syrup in small amounts to get your desired taste. If your butter isn't quite room temperature, cut into small pieces and beat first before adding the icing sugar - otherwise your kitchen will have a coating of white powder! Make sure you beat until the icing is very smooth and delicious!

I used a disposable icing bag and a star tip to make mine but you can ice yours any way you like! Drizzle with maple syrup and top with a pecan... mmm!

Seriously delicious and moreish.