Recipe: honey nut cupcakes
Posted by Kerry
December 8, 2008
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I love Christmas food, but, like most people, am in danger of suffering mince pie fatigue by mid-December. If I’m cooking for people at this time of year, I like to keep it interesting with new and non-traditional recipes, especially for sweet things. Last year I made an awesome cheesecake as the centrepiece of my festive buffet, and this year I’ll be cooking up another batch of these. Delicious and full of holiday cheer (that honey-nut combination does it every time!), with not a raisin in sight. Perfect!
This recipe is based on a couple of others that I tried out – particularly this one at Cupcake Blog, which is where I got the idea in the first place – but I think I’ve added enough tweaks to legitimately claim this one as my own. The main difference is that I prefer to leave the honey out of the cupcakes – I find that a simple vanilla flavour works well with the salty-sweet-honey-peanut extravaganza, and I like the texture better that way. I also simplify things somewhat by going with self-raising flour and salted peanuts, and have done my usual trick of making far more frosting than anyone else recommends (partly because I like to really overload these babies, and partly because I eat so much of it while I’m making it).
Makes 12
For the cupcakes:
150g butter
150g castor sugar
180g self-raising flour
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 generous handful of salted peanuts
For the frosting:
2 tbsp thick honey
200g cream cheese
100g butter
400g icing sugar
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake cups.
Roughly chop the peanuts, and put about a tablespoon’s worth to one side.
Cream the butter and sugar. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Now combine the eggs, flour and vanilla extract with the butter and sugar.
Half-fill the cups with the mixture, then add a layer of salted peanuts to each. Now top them up with the rest of the mixture.
Pop the cupcakes in the oven and bake for 12-15 mins (or however long it takes your oven) until they’re a pale golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. When they’re done, place them on a wire rack to cool.
Using an electric mixer, combine the honey, cream cheese, icing sugar and butter.
Spoon or pipe an even amount of the frosting on to each cupcake, and then top with a sprinkling of the leftover peanuts.
5 comments Categories: recipes
December 8th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
These sound delicious. Far from being exhausted by mince pies, I’ve yet to have one! But the Americans appear not to like ‘em so it’s good to have an alternative at festive feasts!
December 8th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
I don’t like mince pies, so I spend most of December seeming very rude as I decline them.
December 9th, 2008 at 12:18 am
Well you’d get along nicely here – both mince pies and fruit cake are regarded oddities and slightly gross. I like both with crumbly cheese. It’s all about the cheese…
December 9th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Fruit cake gross? Oh Vanessa I am sad for you – or perhaps not, all the more for you! Do they like fruit chutney with cheese?
Kerry these sound delicious – I love salty sweet things.
December 9th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Salty sweet things are the best things there are.