These salty, sweet cupcakes are perfect for a celebration.
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Yields:
12 serving(s)
Prep Time:
45 mins
Cook Time:
30 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 15 mins
Cal/Serv:
500
Ingredients
FOR THE CUPCAKES
150g
unsalted butter, chopped
125g
self-raising flour
1/4tsp.
bicarbonate of soda
100g
caster sugar
2
medium eggs, beaten
50g
soured cream
FOR THE MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
3
medium egg whites*
175g
granulated sugar
250g
unsalted butter, cubed and softened
125g
salted caramel sauce, plus extra to drizzle
Flaked sea salt, optional, to sprinkle
Directions
Step 1For the cupcakes, melt the butter in a medium pan over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan frequently, until the butter turns golden with brown flecks and smells nutty (it will foam during cooking, so keep swirling the pan to check). Empty the butter into the bowl of a freestanding mixer or a large heatproof bowl and chill until solid.
Step 2Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4, and line a 12-hole cupcake tin with paper cases. Into a separate bowl, sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt. Once the browned butter has solidified, add the sugar and beat (using a handheld electric whisk if not in a mixer) until pale and fluffy.
Step 3Gradually beat in the eggs, adding 1tbsp of the flour mixture if it looks like it might curdle. Add 1⁄2 the flour mixture and beat until almost combined. Scrape in the soured cream and beat briefly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Step 4Add the remaining flour mixture and beat briefly to combine. Divide the mixture evenly between the cases (they won’t be full) and bake for 15-18min, or until golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack (in their cases).
Step 5For the meringue buttercream, in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, using a handheld electric whisk, beat the egg whites and sugar until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar has dissolved, about 5min. Scrape into the bowl of a freestanding mixer or continue with the bowl off the heat and the handheld electric whisk.
Step 6Beat on high for 10min, or until the meringue is thick and the outside of the bowl is completely cool. Gradually add the butter, 1 piece at a time, beating well after each addition (it might look curdled but keep beating and it will come together). Once all the butter has been added, beat on medium-high for 4min. Beat in the salted caramel sauce, until combined.
Step 7Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle. Pipe on to the cooled cupcakes. Drizzle over some extra salted caramel sauce and sprinkle over a few sea salt flakes, if you like.
TO STORE Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
*PREGNANT WOMEN, INFANTS AND THE ELDERLY ARE ADVISED TO EAT RAW/PARTIALLY COOKED EGGS ONLY IF THEY HAVE THE BRITISH LION STAMP
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
