Banoffee cupcakes

Banoffee – doesn’t the word just sound ludicrously delicious? Having never been a fan of the American tradition of taking two related words and jamming them together to form one, apparently time-saving new one, I do however like this one example for it’s childlike ‘nursery feel’. Mmmm….banoffee. It is only recently that I really developed an appreciation of the almost cloyingly sweet combination of banana and toffee. A lifetime of eating substandard solid, chalky, or ripe-to-the-point-of-being-almost-liquid bananas had led me to almost loathe the silly yellow fruit, although I have undoubtedly always been a lover of rich caramel flavours. On a recent holiday to Portugal , my very sweet-toothed husband ordered a doorstop sized wedge of Banoffee Pie and my - it was incredible. A pale, almost savoury, pie crust, lined with row upon row of thick, sweet slices of fragrant banana and swaddled in a melting ooze of molten, buttery toffee and a cloud of cold, stiffly whipped cream. The cream hadn’t been sullied with any sugar to sweeten its creamy blandness and that, along with the hint of salt in the crust, made the glistening toffee and bananas sing. Utterly divine.

It was the memory of this tooth-aching treat, that I was inspired to make my first batch of Banoffee Cupcakes.

With a fluffy, subtley banana flavoured sponge, it is only when you take a big bite of these babies that you really experience caramel heaven, thanks to the giant splodge of Dulche de Leche which fills the hollowed-out centre. Crowned with a halo of piped whipped cream and dusted with flakes of chocolate, these decadent cupcakes are guaranteed to please any Banoffee Aficionado.


Makes 12
• Tin of Carnation Condensed Milk
• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 125ml double cream, whipped

1. Place Condensed Milk tin in a deep saucepan and cover fully with water. Bring to the boil and leave to simmer for approximately an hour, topping up the water as necessary. It is essential that the can remains covered by water at all times, lest it explode, leaving you with a very sticky ceiling. Once the caramel has been made, remove tin and allow to cool slightly.
2. Preheat oven to 350 C. (or a little lower if fan assisted oven – no one knows your oven better than you do!)
3. Line standard muffin tin with 12 cake liners.
4. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
5. Melt butter in a small pan over a low heat. Cool slightly.
6. Make a well in the centre of dry ingredients and add melted butter, mashed bananas, eggs and vanilla. Don’t overmix as this will knock all of the air out of the mixture..
7. Divide evenly, spooning into muffin cups.
8. Bake 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted, comes out clean.
9. Allow cupcakes to cool on wire rack; however don’t allow them to get completely cold as they are easier to cut when still slightly warm.
10. When cold, using a teaspoon, scoop out a little of the middle section of the cake, leaving a hole in the top. Keep the sections of cake you have removed.
11. Open the tin of Condensed Milk, which should by now have turned thick and gooey. Spoon a little of the caramel sauce into the hole and place the ‘top’ back over the hole in the cake.
12. Decorate with piped whipped double cream and sprinkle with a little grated chocolate.