Cinnamon Spiced Biscoff Cupcakes

 

Well hello October, she says wrapped in a double blanket and duvet, with dressing gown wrapped around her. Although it might take us a moment to acclimatize back to our familiar cold weather here in the UK I still adore everything about the cosy season that is Autumn. And with that being said, what better way to cosy up than with a cupcake or two! With a dash of cinnamon and splodge of biscoff to warm the heart, I had a spark for wanting to create a truly Autumnal cupcake and decided on cinnamon spiced biscoff. Now the cinnamon spice in this is quite delicate so if you're not one for an overpowering, full throttle pumpkin spiced latte with cinnamon sticks in this'll be right up your alley!

Don't worry, we're not talking the cinnamon challenge here!

- I did not release how highly dangerous the cinnamon challenge was until I looked it up to see if it was real or I was just making it up! Please do not try it! 

Just enough Autumn without out too much spice. For the cakes you can use any vanilla cupcake and buttercream recipe of your choice. I used my favourite vegan vanilla Victoria sponge cake and vanilla buttercream recipe by Ms. Cupcake, from her 2013 book The Naughtiest Vegan Cakes in Town. The rest, the flavouring and little additions, are my own sweet-toothed imagination of something sugary but cosy! If you'd like to join me in a cosy up with a cupcake, read on for your 10 steps to making these cosy Autumnal cupcakes perfect to pair with your afternoon coffee...

You will need...

• A vanilla cupcake and buttercream recipe of choice
• 1 small circular shaped cutter - I used the top of my Chilly's style bottle
• Smooth biscoff spread
• Crunchy biscoff spread
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 capfuls caramel flavouring OR caramel sauce - see recipe below
• Cocktail sticks
• 1 piping bag with larger star nozzle attachment
• 1 plate and cup of tea on stand-by, ready for taste testing...

First pick your favourite vanilla cupcake recipe of choice and follow that to produce some cupcakes. Any recipe will do! Then here's the rest...

1. After following your chosen cupcake recipe of choice, leave the little morsels of joy to cool down completely. 
2. Once cooled, use your small circular shaped cutter to score a hole in the centre of each cupcake. Spoon out a crater of cupcake, about half way deep in each.
I found it's quite nice at this point to keep your left over cake scoops in a little bowl to one side for snacking later!
3. With teaspoons to hand, spoon in a good dollop of biscoff spread into each cake hole. I alternated mine with smooth and crunch biscoff spread to add an extra element of surprise.
4. Now, following your chosen vanilla buttercream recipe, whip up your icing.
5. Once buttercream ready, according to your chosen vanilla buttercream recipe of choice, now add approximately two teaspoons of cinnamon.
6. Now, for the caramel flavouring I wanted to add it in little swirls however that didn't quite go so to plan for me. I added approximately two capfuls of the Asda sea salted caramel flavouring, one after the other. I sprinkled a capful in and lightly swirled it into the icing with a cocktail stick however my swirls seemed to dissipate and vanish. If you'd like to produce caramel swirls in your icing a little better than mine I'd recommend trying adding caramel sauce rather than flavouring. I struggled to fine any vegan options in the shop but I did stumble across what seems to be this pretty easy recipe on the BBC website you could try - do ensure you allow your sauce to cool completely though before swirling into your buttercream with a cocktail stick!
7. Once spiced and swirled, place the buttercream in the fridge for about ten minutes. I found letting my buttercream chill a little after mixing just gave it a bit more sturdiness, ready to pipe onto the cakes, after being exposed to and whipped together at room temperature. 
8. Spoon the sugary goodness that is now your cinnamon spiced buttercream into your piping bag and swiftly pipe each cupcake in spiral motions, from outer to inner of the cupcakes, raising the buttercream a little above the last swirl on each round. This should hopefully create that nice traditional iced cupcake look. I am far from good at it but it has taken me some practice to get the hang of.
9. Now for the topping, I again wanted to add a little bit of variation by leaving some plain and some drizzled. For your biscoff drizzle, melt one tablespoon of smooth bisoff sauce in a microwaveable bowl in the microwave, for approximately 20 seconds, with stopping and stirring half way through. I've tried melted biscoff sauce in  glass bowl over a pan of hot water on the hob before but it's consistency seems to deteriorate into a sticky, gloopy mess very easy and very quickly so if possible I really would recommend the microwave for this part.
10. Carefully remove your delightful biscoff drizzle from the microwave (careful it will be hot!) and use that tablespoon to scoop out about a quarter of the spoon and drizzle delicately over your cupcakes of choice.

If cooled, pop them in the fridge and Bob's your teapot! You've got yourself some cinnamon spiced biscoff cupcakes!

Well I do hope you are cupcake in hand by this point in the post and if not I hope it's tempted you to treat yourself! You deserve it! These cinnamon spiced biscoff cupcakes have been fuelling me just perfectly with the Autumnal chill we've been having this past week, pairing pretty perfectly with the odd afternoon coffee. I've been head over heels for them and I'll be very sad once they are all gone. <3 

Now to grab myself a cupcake!...

Ellie x

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