Halloween Toffee Apple Cupcakes

It was announced at work yesterday that we were going to have a bake sale - today. A bit short notice for my liking but I really wanted to make something! I didn't have time to buy any extra ingredients so had to make do with what I had at home (and one thing I picked up in M&S at the train station) - but this is me after all. I had plenty of stuff at home!

 

I decided cupcakes would be quickest and easiest and I could decorate them with different Halloween toppers. I was originally going to make chocolate cakes but decided to use a flavour combination that you get a lot at this time of year: toffee apple.

I decided to go with a basic recipe and then add my flavourings and see how it turned out; the result was a light, bouncy cake with both flavours definitely coming through.

Toffee Apple Cupcakes - an original recipe by Caroline Makes

175g butter
175g caster sugar
3 eggs
175g apple sauce
175g Carnation caramel
175g self-raising flour

to decorate:
400g icing sugar
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
assorted coloured fondant and mini cookie cutters
I also used Marks & Spencer meringue ghosts to decorate - you can easily make your own but I didn't have time

Preheat oven to 175C.

Cream the butter and sugar and add the eggs, the mix in the apple sauce and the caramel.

Finally fold in the flour.

Spoon into cake cases - I had some Halloween ones left over from last year. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until cooked but still springy to the touch.

Allow to cool. When the cakes are cool, decorate them however you wish.

I made up some royal icing for another recipe, by  whisking egg whites and cream of tartar with the icing sugar, and spread this on top of several of the cupcakes.

I sat the M&S meringue ghosts on top of some of the cupcakes, and for others used black fondant and a mini cookie cutter to cut out bat shapes. I also moulded a skull and some pumpkins from white fondant that I coloured orange and green. I made a monster's head with the rest of the green fondant.

I am sending these to the blog challenge Food 'n' Flix, hosted this month by Elizabeth at the Lawyer's Cookbook, as the film she has chosen is perfect for Halloween - Hocus Pocus.

I'm also sending this to the Food Year Linkup, hosted by Charlotte's Lively Kitchen, as she welcomes recipes that fit to the time of year or topical events that are happening.

 

Finally I am sharing these with Treat Petite, hosted by Stuart at Cakeyboi and Kat aka the Baking Explorer. Their theme is black and orange, or anything Halloween related.