These almond cupcakes, decadently dressed with white chocolate cream cheese icing and crunchy honeycomb, come from Lyndey Milan's TV series, Baking Secrets.
Cupcakes
¾ cup
Almond meal (Main)
⅓ cup
Self raising flour
½ tsp
Sea salt flakes
150 g
Butter
¾ cup
Caster sugar
1 tsp
Vanilla paste
3
Eggs
200 g
White chocolate (Main)
200 g
Cream cheese, softened (Main)
Almond honeycomb
¼ cup
Almond flakes
¼ cup
Caster sugar
2 Tbsp
Honey
1 Tbsp
Butter
½ tsp
Bicarbonate soda
1 tsp
Vanilla paste
½ tsp
Sea salt flakes
Directions
Heat the oven to 180C and line two 12-hole cupcake tins with paper cupcake liners. Sift almond meal, self-raising flour and salt into medium bowl.
In a large bowl beat butter, caster sugar and vanilla bean paste to a cream. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Using a large metal spoon, fold in almond meal mixture. Spoon batter evenly into cupcake liners and bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water and allow to cool slightly. Whip the cream cheese in a medium bowl until light and fluffy, add chocolate and continue to whip until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and whisk again until light and fluffy.
For almond honeycomb, toast almonds in a small saucepan over low heat for 5 minutes or until golden. Remove. To the same saucepan, add sugar, honey and butter and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat and simmer, without stirring, for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Quickly stir through reserved toasted almonds with bicarb soda, vanilla and salt.
Spoon on to a piece of baking paper and set aside to cool. When cool break or chop into small chunks.
To serve, pipe a swirl of whipped white chocolate ganache onto each cupcake and top with a few chunks of almond honeycomb.
