Tonight all over Britain, people will be wrapped up warm against the elements, throwing straw effigies of Guy Fawkes (& typically local politicians) onto huge community bonfires and waving damp sparklers carelessly around. Residents of Ottery St Mary in Devon, will be upping the ante and holding burning barrels of oil aloft and running though the streets (if you don’t believe me you can read about it here!)
Yep, its Guy Fawkes night, also known as Bonfire Night or Firework Night. To get in the mood I’ve made some rich, sticky, gingerbread cupcakes and topped them off with a smooth caramel biscuit Swiss meringue buttercream. These flavors, along with burnt jacket potatoes, take me right back to Guy Fawkes nights of my past. Parkin, a ginger cake full of oats and syrup, honeycomb (cinder toffee, hokey pokey), and toffee apples are all foods that are synonymous with Guy Fawkes night. I think I have combined some of these flavors with this recipe. The kitchen certainly smelt of bonfire night whilst baking yesterday – minus the sulfur and damp burning wood smell.
Guy Fawkes night originates from a failed assassination attempt on the Protestant King of England by a group of English Catholics. They wanted to replace King James I with a Catholic Head of State so conspired to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London. Their attempt was foiled and Guy Fawkes, one of the conspirators, was discovered hiding in a basement under the Houses of Parliament ready to light the fuse on 36 barrels of gunpowder. Following the failed plot, Parliament declared 5 November as a National day of thanksgiving and since that day it has been celebrated throughout Britain. The Houses of Parliament basements are still checked (albeit by lamp light) every November for barrels of gunpowder and bombs!
The Swiss meringue buttercream in this recipe was mixed with Biscoff cookie spread. Oh my goodness this spread is good! If you haven’t tried it yet, you really should (and no I don’t get sent free jars for saying so, unfortunately!). I topped a few of the cupcakes with Bourbon honeycomb crumbs from a recipe that I am working on. Check back soon if you fancy the sound of that! In the meantime, you can buy honeycomb sprinkles here.
Gingerbread Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 15m
- Cook Time: 20m
- Total Time: 35m
- Yield: 12 cupcakes
- Category: Cakes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter (110g) room temperature
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar (100g)
- 1/2 cup cream (120ml)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup treacle/molasses (150g)
- 1 cup all purpose flour (170g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
For the Gingerbread Cupcakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan/ 350°F. Place liners in a 12 hole muffin tray
- Place the butter and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until the mixture is creamy and lightens in color.
- Add the egg to the mix and beat to combine. If the mixture starts to split add one or two tablespoons of the flour to the mix to prevent.
- Add the treacle, cream and vanilla and mix on a medium speed for a couple of minutes. The mixture does not look particularly appetizing at this point and may well look a little curdled but it will get better once the dry ingredients are added!
- Add the flour, baking powder, spices and salt to the mixture and beat until combined. Do not overbeat the mixture - it needs to be combined but only just.
- Divide the mixture between the 12 muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes until a knife poked into the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool before piping with Biscoff Swiss Meringue Buttercream and sprinkling with honeycomb sprinkles.
Biscoff Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Prep Time: 30m
- Yield: Enough to top 12 cupcakes
- Category: Cakes
Ingredients
- 3 medium egg whites
- 3/4 cup sugar (150g)
- 1 3/4 stick butter (200g) room temperature and cubed
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons Biscoff biscuit spread
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Wipe down the bowl of your stand mixer and your whisk with lemon juice. This should remove all traces of grease, which would prevent the egg whites from whisking properly. If you don't have lemon juice just make sure that your bowl and whisk are clean and grease free!
- Carefully separate the eggs and place the egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk until the sugar has melted.
- Remove from the heat. Attach the whisk to your stand mixer and whisk on a medium speed until the outside of the mixing bowl feels cool to the touch and the egg whites form glossy, stiff peaks. The peaks should stand up on their own without drooping when the whisk if removed from the mixture.
- Turn the mixer down and slowly add the cubes of butter one by one until they are all combined. Whisk for 8 - 12 minutes until the mixture comes together in a smooth, silky buttercream.
- At this point add the Biscoff spread and the vanilla flavouring and beat again to combine.
- Your buttercream is now ready to pipe.
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