Banana peanut cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting

These cupcakes came about as I found a dairy free chocolate frosting, that did not contain margarine that I wanted to try and while I could eat it from the bowl with a soon this is perhaps not the most elegant solution.

A root round the cupboards yielded a rather ripe banana and a jar of peanut butter. Banana and peanut work well together and chocolate happily marries well with both, thus this cupcake was born.

A moist flavourful cupcake topped with an insanely dark chocolate frosting, what's not to love?

Banana peanut cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting

makes 12

60g butter or dairy free alternative
60g banana40g peanut butter (no added sugar preferably)
125g golden caster sugar
tsp vanilla paste/extract
2 eggs
125g self raising flour
tbsp milk

160ml of coconut cream
75g dark choolate, I used green and black

Begin with the frosting, heat the cream until just below boiling, pour over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted. Set aside to cool then put in the fridge to firm up.

Line a cupcake/muffin tin with liners and preheat the oven to 180C/160C FAN.

Cream the butter,banana, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla paste together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl in-between and beat for a further couple of minutes.

Add the flour and beat on slow until just combined. Finally add the milk and beat for a further minute. Divide the batter between the liners and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden and springy.

Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool.

Whip the frosting, it will be smooth and shiny and then put back in the fridge for another hour or so. Whip again, the frosting will lose its shine and become fluffier, looking very much like a standard chocolate  frosting.

Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and enjoy.

These cupcakes will keep for a few days in an airtight tin. If it is very hot this frosting could melt, so keep in the fridge and allow to come to room temperature before tucking it. 

Florentines

The letter for this months alpha bakes is F. I had a few ideas, none of which were initially florentines. However whilst flicking through John Whaites book I saw his version and realised a) I have never made one and b) I have never eaten one.

So florentines it was. I did change his recipe a little so have my version below.

Florentines

makes ~15

60g butter
50g light brown sugar
15g golden syrup
50g sultanas, chop any big ones
30g dried apricot, roughly chopped
100g salted peanuts, roughly chopped
25g plain flour
50g dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C FAN and line two/three baking sheets with baking parchment.

Mix the dried fruit, nuts and flour in a bowl. Gently melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup, when fully melted tip into the dry ingredients and stir until fully combined.

Drop heaped teaspoons of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake in the oven for 7-8 minutes until golden. Leave to cool on the baking sheets.

Once cool they can be peeled from the baking paper. Melt the chocolate and drizzle over the florentines.

These were pretty simple to make, I have a few different sizes, clearly I did not heap my teaspoon very evenly!

My first ever florentine did taste pretty good. Personally I think I would prefer my fruit, nuts and chocolate in an actual cookie but that is personal preference I guess.

Snickers cupcakes

I have to admit that I am a recent covert to the amazingness that is a snickers. This is largely in part to my recent liking of nuts.

Making cupcakes for work I knew I wanted a chocolate-y one, its just what went with the chocolate. That is when I decided to take the snickers and make it into a cupcake. Now I know for a fact that the idea of a snickers cupcake is not original but I came up with this mish mash myself, though like I said there are probably hundreds of similar variations out there.

For this cake you will need your favourite chocolate cupcake recipe. Chocolate cupcake recipes vary a lot and everyone has their favourite way of making them. Make them and let them cool.

You will also need a caramel, you do not need much, a couple of heaped tablespoons at most. I confess to, in this instance, using it from a jar. Some salted peanuts. I also confess to not weighing these. I simply chopped up enough so that once stirred into the caramel there was a good peanut to caramel ratio.

You will also need to make the buttercream. I was just going to make peanut buttercream. Then, whilst looking at other baking books I thought about whoopee pie filling. That marshmallow fluff gives a sort of nougat-y quality so I decided to add that in. It works a dream, it is my current favourite frosting (this changes regularly, it has to be said).

Frosting for 12 cupcakes

50g butter
50g smooth peanut butter
250g icing sugar
2 tablespoons of milk
125g marshmallow fluff. 

Beat the butter and peanut butter together. Add in the icing sugar and milk and beat until very light and fluffy, this can easily take 5 minutes. Finally add in the marshmallow fluff and beat to combine. 

To assemble the cakes, core the middle of each cake and add a good heaped teaspoon of your peanut caramel mix. Replace the cone, trimming to fit as necessary. 

Pipe the frosting on top, if you have no piping bag simply swirl onto of the cakes. 

I decorated the top with a sprinkling of chopped salted peanuts and a slice of snickers.

These cupcakes were frankly amazing. I am a little sad that I gave the majority to work and more are being made soon!

Salted caramel cupcakes

The book for this months cupcake book club, run by Kelly from american cupcake in London, was 'Cupcakes at Carrington's' by Alexandra Brown.

The main character Georgie works at Carringtons and enjoys nothing more than sinking her teeth into a sweet creation from the cafe, run by her best friend. It was an enjoyable book and I would happily read the upcoming ones in the series.

Georgie's favourite cupcake is the red velvet. I have not made this for a couple of reasons. Firstly it is lent, so no chocolate for me. Secondly I love chocolate and the red velvet never really does it for me, I do not want mild chocolate flavour, I want full on chocolate!

Still there are plenty of other cupcakes and sweet treats mentioned in the book. One cupcake mentioned is a salted caramel cupcake. This is my sort of cake, I love salted caramel!

I made a vanilla cake with a spoonful of peanut butter in the batter to give a salty element. I filled the cake with salted caramel and topped the whole thing off with salted caramel buttercream. I think Georgie would approve of the clouds of buttercream!

Salted caramel cupcakes

makes 12

75g butter
50g peanut butter (no added sugar preferably)
125g golden caster sugar
tsp vanilla paste/extract
2 eggs
125g self raising flour
tbsp milk

75g white caster sugar
75ml double cream
sea salt to taste

80g butter
200g icing sugar
tbsp milk


Line a cupcake/muffin tin with liners and preheat the oven to 180C/160C FAN.


Cream the butter, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla paste together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl in-between and beat for a further couple of minutes.

Add the flour and beat on slow until just combined. Finally add the milk and beat for a further minute. Divide the batter between the liners and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden and springy.

Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool.

To make the caramel gently heat the caster sugar in a pan until dissolved and deep amber in colour. Remove from the heat and, stirring quickly, add in the cream. Return the pan to the heat and cook until the caramel has thicken and coats the back of a spoon. Add sea sat a little at a time until the caramel is salted to your preference. Set the caramel aside to cool.

When the cupcakes and caramel are cool the assembly can begin! Remove a cone from the cupcakes with a sharp knife. Fill the cavity with a teaspoon of the salted caramel before replacing the cone, it may need trimming to fit. 

Finally for the buttercream beat the butter, icing sugar and milk together until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes or so. Beat in some of the cooled caramel a little at a time until the frosting is well flavoured with the salted caramel.

Pipe or swirl on the frosting with a palette knife.

I am pretty certain Georgie would approve of these cupcakes. The are sweet and salty, with plenty of buttercream. Mark certainly approves, declaring the frosting 'the best ever'.

Cookie ice cream sandwiches

As a child I remember the long rectangular blocks of ice cream that could be sliced. I remember my mum slicing off a wedge and sandwiching it between two thin wafers. It was absolutely delicious.

I would still eat this ice cream sandwich in a heartbeat but there is nothing wrong with a little make over every now and then. 

Creamy ice cream sandwiched between two chewy cookies does not sound bad however you approach it! I had simple, but rich, vanilla ice cream so decided to pair it with a salty peanut cookie. What combination would you choose?

I am going to enter this into this months alpha bakes, for the tricky letter 'I'.

Peanut Cookies

125g Butter

100g Golden caster sugar 

75g Light brown sugar  

1 egg

½ teaspoon vanilla paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

150g Plain flour 

½ tsp baking powder

100g salted peanuts (minus the few that will inevitably jump into your mouth...)

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C fan. Grease and flour two baking sheets.

Melt the butter over a low heat. Add the sugars to a bowl and stir in the melted butter. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.

Add the flour and baking powder and mix until almost combined. Add the peanuts and mix until thoroughly combined.

Drop spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until golden around the edges.

Once cool sandwich together with plenty of ice cream! I think chocolate chips will work beautifully here but its still lent so no chocolate for me. I guess I will have to make them again in a few weeks. Its a hard life!

Peanut butter cookie stuffed brownies

This looks like a normal brownie right?

Well, it is a chocolate brownie, but it has a hidden surprise  A very yummy surprise I might add. I have hidden balls of peanut cookie dough within the brownie.

The peanut cookie dough adds a lovely nutty salty contrast to the sweet brownie. Saying that I always cut a little sugar from brownie recipes as I like them deep and chocolatey and not too sweet.

Peanut butter cookies stuffed chocolate brownies

makes 18 (dependant on how big you cut them!)

For the cookie

28g butter
28g peanut butter (I used crunchy)
25g caster sugar
40g light brown sugar
Tbsp milk
70g plain flour
pinch of salt

For the brownie

200g dark chocolate 
75g butter
100g groundnut oil
275g caster sugar
130g plain flour
3 eggs

Preheat the oven to 170C/150C FAN. Grease and line a brownie tin with baking parchment.

First make the cookie dough, beat together the butter, peanut butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in the milk and finally stir in the flour to bring the cookie dough together. Put the dough aside whist you make the brownies. 

Place the butter, oil and chocolate in a heat proof bowl and set over a pan of barely simmering water. Allow to melt, stirring from time to time. When fully melted remove the bowl from the heat and mix in the sugar until full incorporated. Next stir in the flour until no more remains visible. Finally add the eggs one at time and stir until fully combined. 

Pour half the brownie mix into the prepared pan and level out with a spatula, or the back of a spoon. Take small pieces of the cookie dough and roll into balls. Evenly disperse the cookie dough balls over the batter and press them in every so slightly.

Pour the rest of the batter over, making sure all the cookie dough is covered  even if it is only a wafer thin covering, 

Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes until flaky on top but not overcooked, you want a nice fudgey centre! Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for at least an hour this will make removal  much easier. 

Using the baking parchment to help you, lift the brownie from the tin and transfer it to a wire rack. When fully cool cut with a sharp knife into whatever size brownie pieces you require.

You can of course use your own personal favourite brownie recipe but I have posted this one as it has become my favourite quite by accident! I had started to make these when it became clear I would not have enough butter. This never happens. It was nearly a disaster. However I substituted groundnut oil for the missing butter. I was a little worried the brownies would be cakey but hoped there was enough butter to keep them fudgey.

Totally unexpectedly these were my favourite type of brownie, a crisp top, fudgey centre and just a little bit of chew, hmmmm.  

Peanut butter and chocolate cookies

These are my entry for this months alpha bakes. Peanut butter is perhaps not the most original thing beginning with P but time was limited as my holiday was looming! Having said that I have a plan forming and there may be time to squeeze out a slightly more inventive offering before the deadline tomorrow.

I am not, however, going to apologise too much as I love these cookies and they are a regular guest in the biscuit tin. If you do try them I am sure they will become a favourite of yours too.

Peanut butter and chocolate cookies (adapted every so slightly from the hummingbird bakery cookbook)

makes 24 (big cookies!)

225g butter at room temperature
175g caster sugar
175g light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
240g crunchy peanut butter
340g plain flour
2 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat the oven to 170C/150C FAN and line baking sheets with baking parchment. 

Combine the butter, sugars and vanilla in a bowl and beat until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated. Add the peanut butter to the bowl and beat on slow until combined. Add the flour and bicarbonate of soda to the bowl and mix until a smooth dough is formed. There is a lot of cookie dough, I had to stir in the flour by hand as my handheld whisk could not cope with the volume! 

Finally add in the chocolate chips and stir until evenly dispersed.

Arrange heaped tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared sheets. Space them well apart to allow for spreading as they bake. I had to bake my cookies in lots of batches. Bake for 10-12minutes until flattened and golden brown, they will continue to flatten as they cool. 

Leave the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

These are a soft and chewy cookie with a fantastic salty sweet peanut flavour.

Fruit and nut flapjacks

Ah flapjacks, they start off so well don't they? You fill a bowl chock full of things that are good for you, oats, fruit, nuts etc. You then diligently turn and fill a pan with butter, syrup and sugar! However we must not lose sight of the fact that all the good stuff is still there!

Yes I am justifying to myself that these are an excellent energy boosting snack and perfect before dance rehearsals.

They are super quick and simple to mix up and a batch can be in the oven within 10 minutes.

These flapjacks are a bit of a hotch potch of things I had to use up in the cupboard, but I love love love the finished result. Peanuts will definitely be making a welcome reappearance in flapjacks again.

Fruit and nut flapjacks


makes 16


175g oats
35g chopped pecans
40g halved peanuts
70g dried cranberries
70g currants
140g butter
25g golden syrup
125g light brown sugar
teaspoon vanilla paste (optional)


Grease and line a suitable tin with baking parchment, I lined my brownie tin. Preheat the oven to 160C/FAN 140C.


Put the oats, nuts and fruit into a bowl. Gently heat the butter, sugar and golden syrup until melted. Mix into the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined. Tip the flapjack mixture into the prepared tin, level and lightly press down with the back of a spoon. 

Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until lightly golden.

Leave to cool in the pan, when cool remove and cut into squares. 

These flapjacks keep in an airtight tin very well, and are robust enough to transport to work for an afternoon snack.

The vanilla in this is completely optional but I like the subtle hint of it in my flapjack. The total weight of fruit and  nuts in this recipe is 215g, as long as you keep to roughly this weight you could ring the changes with as many fruit and nut combos as you can think of! 

Peanut and salted caramel cupcakes - Cupcake book club

This months book for the cupcake book club was Rosie Hopkins sweet shop of dreams. I loved the book, especially as it is set in two different time periods. The only downside of the book is that I had constant pick and mix cravings!

Deciding on a cupcake to make was a little harder, I was not going to make a liquorice or aniseed flavoured one that's for sure. The book does talk about peanut brittle and soft caramels a lot and so I combined the two to come up with my cupcake.

I made a peanut butter cupcake with a salted caramel centre. I topped it with salted caramel buttercream and homemade peanut brittle.

Slight confession, I did not make my own caramel. I used dulce de leche from a jar, heated it in a bowl over simmering water and added in sea salt until I decided the caramel had been salted enough. It was delicious and I had already stickyed up enough pans making the brittle.

Confession number two, the first time I made the brittle I did not let the caramel get quite hot enough and decided to put it BACK on the heat AFTER I had added the butter. I did not end up with brittle. More of a fudgy/tablet thing with peanuts in, still, someone who shall remain nameless is polishing it off so its not all bad. My second brittle was much better!

Peanut and salted caramel cupcakes


makes 12


For the brittle


90g caster sugar
50g golden syrup
25ml water
65g peanuts (I used salted)
10g butter
2g baking powder


For the cupcakes


75g butter
130g peanut butter (I used crunchy)
100g caster sugar 
75g brown sugar 
1 tsp vanilla paste 
2 eggs 
120g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder 
60ml milk 


dulce de leche (about 2/3s of a jar)
sea salt 


For the frosting


80g butter
250g butter
2 tablespoons milk
reserved caramel


Peanut brittle


Have everything weighed out ready before you start and butter a baking sheet.


Put the sugar, golden syrup and water in a pan and bring to the boil. Once boiling add the peanuts, keep boiling, stirring frequently until a sugar thermometer reads 150C. If, like me, you do not have a sugar thermometer drop a little of the caramel into cold water, it is ready when it forms very hard, brittle strands. 


Take of the heat and immediately stir in the butter and baking powder. Tip onto your prepared sheet and leave to cool.

Once cool snap into pieces. 

Peanut and salted caramel cupcakes


Line a cupcake/muffin tin with liners and preheat the oven to 180C/160C FAN.


Cream the butter, peanut butter, sugars and vanilla paste together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl in-between.


Mix the flour with the baking powder and add a third of it to the butter mix. Mix utill combined then add a third of the milk and mix until combined. Continue this way until all the flour and milk has been incorporated.


Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden and springy.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.


While the cakes are cooling sort out the caramel. Place a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and add the dulce de leche to the bowl. Heat gently and add a little sea salt. Stir to dissolve and incorporate the salt. Taste. Add a little more salt a pinch at a time. When the caramel is salted to your liking, stop.


Set the caramel aside to cool.


When the cakes are fully cold, make a little hollow in each one, reserving the cone.

Fill the hole you have just created with the (cooled) salted caramel. Pop the cone back in, trimming it to fit. 

For the frosting, beat the butter and sugar until it comes together (yes I know, the icing sugar will go everywhere). Add the milk a tablespoon at a time and continue beating until very light and fluffy. Beat in the caramel a spoonful at a time until it is incorporated and the frosting tastes enough of caramel for your liking.

Top the cupcakes with the frosting, I used a palette knife, and a piece of the brittle.  Enjoy.

Banana and peanut cookies

Phew, busy busy week, such a back log of things to post. I will start with these cookies.

Once a banana gets a few freckles, that is it, I cannot eat it. I had two that did not pass my test and so I left them in a corner to become super ripe. When the time came to bake with them I did not want banana bread (a rarity, even I was surprised at myself) so I decided to make a banana cookie.

I was also super tired and so packed the cookie with lots of energy giving ingredients. Bananas. Obviously. Tennis players are always eating them. Peanuts, nuts are packed full of energy. And oats, lots of slow release energy goodness in these. Yes I know I am trying to make the cookies sound good for you. Which they are, they are good for the soul.

Now I know these are banana and peanut cookies but I did not buy peanuts, oops. So I put in reeces peanut butter chips instead. These are nice and I would put them in again, but as the cookie is a soft one I would also add chopped peanuts for a nice texture contrast.

These cookies are quick to make and have a nice strong banana flavour, the peanut really works well with the banana, its a fab combination.

Banana and peanut cookies


makes around 24


150g softened butter
175g light brown sugar
tsp vanilla paste
1 egg
2 very ripe bananas mashed
150g plain flour
250g oats
peanut butter chips and/or chopped peanuts 50g in total


Preheat the oven to 170C/150C FAN, and butter and flour two baking sheets


Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Beat in the egg followed by the banana.

Mashed banana, perhaps not the prettiest...

Add the flour and mix to combine. Finally stir in the oats and peanut chips. 

Drop rounded tablespoons of the mix onto the baking sheet, leaving a gap between them to allow for spreading. Press the rounds down slightly and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Leave to cool on the sheet for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

These cookies are a different take on the classic banana bread and are fabulous straight from the oven but they will keep in a tin for at least 3 days (I do not know if they last longer, they did not survive past day 3...)

Chocolate peanut chip cookies

A little bit of an American theme for the next couple of posts.

On a recent trip to Florida I brought back a HUGE bag of Reese’s peanut butter chips. 

They look exactly like chocolate chips but, you’ve guessed it, they are made with peanuts. By themselves they are lovely and creamy, I challenge you to not eat them straight from the bag!

For my first lot of baking with them I decided to add them to a staple favourite of mine, the chocolate chip cookie. The verdict? They are delicious. I am now plotting more fates for these lovely chips, and, as I can buy them online, I need not book another trip to Florida to get more, mind you it’s not the worst idea…

Chocolate peanut chip cookies (Adapted from Hugh Fearnly Wittingstall)

Recipe makes  15

Butter 125g

Caster sugar 100g

Light brown sugar 75g (dark will do if that’s whats in your cupboard)

1 egg

½ teaspoon vanilla paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

Plain flour 150g

½ tsp baking powder

50g milk chocolate chopped (I like to use dairy milk)

30g Reese’s peanut butter chips.

Preheat you oven to 190^oC/170^OC fan. Grease and flour two baking sheets.

Melt the butter over a low heat. Add the sugars to a bowl and stir in the butter. Add the egg and vanilla and mix till combined.

Add the flour and baking powder and mix until almost combined. Add both the chocolate and peanut chips and mix until thoroughly combined.

Drop spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until golden around the edges.

Leave to cool on the sheets for a minute or two and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.