Cafe Lula

Did I mention my sister graduated last month? With a 2:1? She’s very smart. And here is another reason she’s smart: to celebrate, she requested Tiramisu and Banoffee cupcakes. Yum yum yum.

Though time-consuming, the Tiramisu cupcakes are actually very easy. Not to mention pretty. And look what happens when you bite into them…

Ooo, aren’t they lovely? And tasty. Om nom nom nom. Clearly I didn’t bite into this. I cut it in half with a knife. Do you think I have the self-control to bite into a cake and then leave the other half while it’s photographed? Well, I don’t.

The banoffee cupcakes were a bit trickier. The cake is easy, very similar to the method used for the tiramisu cakes. But the custard topping is stressful! In the method, it says to bring the mixture to the boil once you’ve added the egg mixture to the hot milk, but I found this thickened right up in seconds and I had to whisk in some extra milk. I decided to call that done and leave it to cool and all was fine. I’ve included the full method below.

Well done Kim! 😀

Banoffee cupcakes

From Hummingbird Cake Days

Makes 12-16

Ingredients:

For the sponge:

80g/3 oz butter, softened

280g/10 oz caster sugar

240g/8.5 oz plain (all-purpose) flour

1 tbsp baking powder

240ml/8.5 fl oz milk (I used semi-skimmed)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 ripe bananas, mashed

For the topping:

500ml/18 fl oz milk (I used semi-skimmed)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

5 egg yolks (click here for some ideas on how to use up the whites)

100g/3.5 oz caster sugar

30g/1 oz plain flour

30g/1 oz cornflour

100g/3.5 oz dulce de leche

200ml/7 fl oz double (heavy) cream

Grated chocolate, to decorate

Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan and fill a muffin tin with cases.

To make the cakes, whisk together the butter, sugar, flour and baking powder (and 1/4 tsp of salt if using unsalted butter) until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

In a jug, beat together the milk, vanilla and eggs. Add three-quarters of this to the dry ingredients and mix on a low speed. Add the final quarter and beat on a medium speed until the batter is smooth, then stir in the mashed bananas.

Fill each cake case about two-thirds full and bake for 18-20 minutes until the sponge bounces back when lightly pressed. Allow to cool for a minute or two in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Start the custard topping while the cupcakes are cooking. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks, sugar, flour and cornflour to make a paste. Combine the milk and vanilla in a saucepan and bring to the boil. When the milk has boiled, add 4-5 tbsp to the egg paste and stir, then pour this back into the hot milk in the pan and return to the heat. Whisked constantly over a lower heat and until it reaches the desired thickness. This will happen quite quickly (the recipe directions for this bit are as follows: Bring to the boil again, whisking constantly and then cook for an extra minute to ensure the flour is cooked. I found this impossible but have included it here for completeness). Remove from the heat and whisk in some extra milk if it is too thick. Stir in the caramel. Set aside to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Once the custard has cooled, beat it with a wooden spoon. In another bowl, whisk the double cream until soft peaks form, and then fold the cream into the custard.

Pipe or spoon the custard onto the cool cupcakes and decorate with grated chocolate.

Tiramisu cupcakes

From Hummingbird Cake Days

Makes 12-18

Ingredients:

For the sponge:

80g/3 oz butter, softened

280g/10 oz caster sugar

240g/8.5 oz plain (all-purpose) flour

1 tbsp baking powder

2 large eggs

240ml/8.5 fl oz milk (I used semi-skimmed)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the soaking syrup:

250ml/9 fl oz strong coffee

75ml/2.5 fl oz Tia Maria

3 tbsp caster sugar

For the filling and topping (I only did half of this):

400g/14 oz mascarpone cheese

50ml/1.75 fl oz Tia Maria

300ml/10.5 fl oz double (heavy) cream

30g/1 oz icing sugar

Cocoa powder, to dust

Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan and fill a muffin tin with cases.

To make the cakes, whisk together the butter, sugar, flour and baking powder (and 1/4 tsp of salt if using unsalted butter) until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

In a jug, beat together the milk, vanilla and eggs. Add three-quarters of this to the dry ingredients and mix on a low speed. Add the final quarter and beat on a medium speed until the batter is smooth.

Fill each cake case about two-thirds full and bake for 18-20 minutes until the sponge bounces back when lightly pressed. Allow to cool for a minute or two in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Put the coffee and Tia Maria in a saucepan and stir in the sugar. Bring the mixure to a boil, allowing the mixture to reduce by half, then remove from the heat and set aside.

While the coffee mixture cools, make the frosting. Beat the mascarpone and Tia Maria until smooth. In a separate bowl, whip the cream with the icing sugar until soft peaks form. Fold the the cream into the mascarpone mixture.

When the cupcakes have cooled, use a sharp knife to cut a small piece out of the sponge.  This should be about 2cm in diameter and reach about halfway down the cupcake. Set the pieces aside. Pour 1 tsp of soaking syrup into the hollow of each cupcake and another 1 tsp over each cut out piece.

Fill the hollow half-full with the mascarpone mixture, then put the cut-out pieces of cake back in the hollow. Frost the cupcakes with the remaining mascarpone mixture and dust with cocoa powder.