One of the reasons that I love baking is because of the preciseness of it.
While the rest of my life can feel overwhelming, I know that I can take these ingredients and this recipe and make something spectacular for my family.
It feeds my need to serve [5 love languages] and decompress and renew myself [introvert]
But I am not often a recipe inventor, preferring to be a recipe tester, especially to recreate recipes from magazines.
[side note: that whole line sent me into a google search for recipe tester jobs #procrastibaker]
Discovering this recipe in the April issue of the Coles magazine has had me perusing the magazine on an almost daily basis, waiting for the right time to whip out the ingredients.
Sick kids and tight budgets meant that I had to wait almost two weeks before I finally chopped up the butter to let it soften, and soaked the dates in hot water.
The smell of this mixture coming together reminds me of Christmas, and I always worry for a second that I've done something wrong when the mixture is more liquid than other cakes.
And then the most delightful golden brown cupcakes come out of the oven, I smear cream cheese frosting over the top, make a fresh cup of tea, and argue with small people who only want to lick the frosting off the top.
The big kids are already asking if I can make another batch of these.
Sick kids and tight budgets meant that I had to wait almost two weeks before I finally chopped up the butter to let it soften, and soaked the dates in hot water.
The smell of this mixture coming together reminds me of Christmas, and I always worry for a second that I've done something wrong when the mixture is more liquid than other cakes.
And then the most delightful golden brown cupcakes come out of the oven, I smear cream cheese frosting over the top, make a fresh cup of tea, and argue with small people who only want to lick the frosting off the top.
The big kids are already asking if I can make another batch of these.
Yield: 18
Sticky Date Cupcakes
prep time: 45 MINScook time: 20 MINStotal time: 65 mins
ingredients:
Cupcake Batter
- 300g pitted dates
- 2 teaspoons bicarb soda
- 2 cups boiling water
- 100g butter, softened
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 & 2/3 cups plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 green apple, peeled and grated
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 250g cream cheese, softened
- 100 g butter, softened
- ¾ cup icing sugar mixture
instructions:
Cupcake Batter
- Place dates in heat proof bowl, sprinkle bicarb soda over top, pour over boiling water. Leave 10min.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Add eggs and mix well.
- Place dates in food processor, and whiz until smooth and combined.
- Pour date mixture into butter and egg mixture. Stir well.
- Sift flour and baking powder into butter date mixture.
- Add apple and walnuts if using, and stir well.
- Spoon into lined muffin pans, mixture will appear very runny.
- Bake 180°C 20-22min
- Remove from tray, allow to cool before frosting
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Place all ingredients in a bowl and blend until light and creamy.
- Spread over cooled cupcakes.
- Store cupcakes in refrigerator for 3 days
Created using The Recipes Generator
This mixture sounds like it is very similar to 'Sticky Toffee Pudding' which despite the name, has no toffee in it! That's very liquid when you pour it in the tin too but comes out lovely and light. Those cupcakes look lovely and I'm guessing they taste as good as they look!
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