Banoffee cupcakes

 I love browsing food blogs and Instagram, flicking through magazines and recipe books to get inspiration for new bakes. The idea of turning popular desserts into cupcakes is something that really appeals to me – deciding which flavour to add to the sponge and which to save for the buttercream and the topping, so that a single bite evokes the flavour combination and memory of a favourite dessert. This weekend, I created a cupcake from a much-loved British dessert – the Banoffee Pie…

You will need
175g butter/margarine (for the sponge)
175g golden caster sugar
3 eggs (beaten)
175g self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
2 mashed bananas
397g tinned caramel
280g butter/margarine (for the buttercream)
280g icing sugar
200g white chocolate
banana foam sweets
fudge pieces
grated milk chocolate

Method
Preheat the oven to 175C and line a twelve-hole muffin tin with cake cases. Cream together the butter and the sugar, then gradually whisk in the beaten eggs. Mix in the flour, baking powder and mashed banana, until well combined, then spoon into the cake cases. Bake for approximately twenty minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Using a cupcake corer or a teaspoon, remove a piece of sponge from the centre of each cupcake and fill with caramel. Leave to cool.

To make the buttercream, cream together the remaining butter and icing sugar, then melt the white chocolate and combine. Spoon into a piping bag and pipe white chocolate buttercream on the top of each cooled cupcake. Decorate with a swirl of caramel, a banana sweet, some fudge pieces and a sprinkle of grated chocolate.