Monday was baking day. I’ve been going to a course on The Artist’s Way and it’s been great. One of the things it got me thinking about is that I’d love to be better at enjoying the process of baking (and a lot of other things), and not just the product. The old “life’s a journey, not a destination” kind of stuff. I hate it when things get so rushed that I stop noticing (let alone appreciate) the little things.
Anyway, enough philosophizing, that was all just to say that I LOVED making these delicious Bar One cupcakes on Monday – melting the chocolate, mixing in the eggs, waiting for the caramel to brown, beating the icing sugar until it was smooth. It was wonderful. Do you guys want the recipe? Here it is!
Caramel Sauce
Ingredients:
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup cream (at room temperature)
- 4 tbs unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
Instructions:
- Combine the sugar and the water in a heavy bottom pan on low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved.
- Turn the heat up to medium-low, and heat until the sauce starts turning a caramel colour. Keep an eye on it until then so it doesn’t burn.
- Immediately remove the pan from the heat, and pour in the cream. The sauce will bubble furiously for a few seconds.
- Stir in the butter and vanilla and set aside to cool down.
Chocolate Cupcakes
makes about 16 cupcakes
Ingredients:
- 100g butter (at room temperature)
- 3/4 cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 115g dark chocolate
- 3.4 cups milk (at room temperature)
- 1.5 cups flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
Instructions:
- Set aside a 12-cup cupcake tray with cupcake liners.
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
- Melt the chocolate on VERY low heat in a small heavy bottom pan. When it is melted, set it aside to cool for a few minutes.
- Cream the butter and the sugar together with an electric mixer.
- Add the eggs, and mix thoroughly.
- Now add in the chocolate while still mixing.
- When the chocolate is mixed in, add half the flour and combine.
- Then add the milk and combine.
- Lastly, add the rest of the flour, the baking powder and the baking soda.
- Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, so that they are about half full.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Caramel Icing
Ingredients:
- caramel sauce (from above)
- 4 cups of icing sugar
- 125g butter
- 1/4 cup milk
- about 2 Bar Ones, cut into slices, for decorating
Instructions:
- Cream the butter with an electric mixer, and slowly add 2 cups of icing sugar.
- Now add half of the caramel sauce we made earlier (about a cup or so), as well as the milk. Carry on mixing all the way through.
- Add the rest of the icing sugar and mix in. Add more milk if the icing is too thick.
- Ice your cupcakes, and drizzle some caramel sauce on top.
- Then decorate with Bar One slices and EAT them.
I hoe you enjoy making them as much as I did. x
okay – this is a definite – I WILL HAVE TO TRY TO BAKE THESE – but they most certainly won’t be as pretty as yours
-grace
http://herumbrella.com
You making me feel like bar ones now :)
oh my god please come live at my house and cook cakes for me till i die :)
This goes beyond want… I NEED some of these! They look too delicious. Do you think it would work to chop up some Bar One into very small pieces and include in the cupcake batter? Completely decadent! But hey… life’s too short not to appreciate the little things (like little pieces of Bar One in your cupcake)
they might all sink to the bottom… but please try it and let me know! so glad you like the idea :) x
They look amazing. I wish I could make cupcakes look this good. It’s my one weakness. Very nice.
They look so delicious!
Please DHL some thisaway forthwith. ;)
Beautiful! Such good work.
And you are so right, enjoying the process is so part of it… I’m now off to bake!
Looks AMAZING!!!
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Oh, I am so making these. I learned to make caramel sauce a while ago and I drizzle it on anything that will allow. Now I have a good reason.
My caramel sauce flopped. Two cups of sugar with only quarter cup of water, the sugar wouldn’t dissolve. Please help.
Many thanks. Kathy Dean