Coconut Banana Bread with Passion Fruit Frosting

Before I well and truly fall off the face of the planet...here's a blog post!! 

Excuse my absence...I was off having a baby! and then I had decided I was going to make an amazing extravagant over the top pink themed bake to announce the baby news, but you know what, babies are hard work! and in between feeding and changing and playing and washing and cooking and repeating that cycle all through the day it has left little time for blogging...and even for baking, sadly enough! 

I laugh to myself when I think back to the conversation I had with my husband whilst I was still pregnant, telling him I was going to really focus on my blog when the baby came along, as obviously I wouldn't be working and would have all the time in the world....wrong! Even when the baby is sleeping, I can't bake for fear that my Kitchenaid would wake her up again! 

So I've mostly only been throwing together quick no bake desserts in the past few months, and I've also become really good at baking in the half an hour window in the evening when her daddy is bathing her!!

So I decided if I was ever going to blog again, I had to forego the extravagant bake announcing Ella's arrival and just tell you already! Ella Kristyn Braithwaite arrived on the 8th February, if you follow me on instagram at all you will be FULLY aware of the fact I had a baby because I'm pretty sure not a day goes by that I don't post a picture of her, but I can't help myself! We are also living away from all our family and friends right now so it's as much for all of them as it is for myself that I take hundreds of pictures! She is a pure joy! We could not be any happier, and despite the waking for night feeds, and the lack of time for baking/blogging we wouldn't have it any other way! If you want to read about how she came into the world, in such a relaxed and happy manner surprisingly, then you can do so here...and she has continued on in that same happy vein.  She naps great in the day, has a long 7-8 hour stretch sleeping when she goes down and only wakes once for a feed, and gives you more smiles than you know what to do with! She is a really content relaxed baby and we feel super lucky that not only was my pregnancy such a breeze, that the rest has been too :)



and I just cannot believe our little lady turned 4 months old on Sunday! It has flown by in a second!!

But I digress...before I forget what I came here to tell you about...let's talk about banana bread! There can never be enough banana bread recipes...and you can never bake too much banana bread.  In fact, despite my general lack of baking in recent months, in the past month I managed to bake 3 different banana breads! A chocolate chip banana bread, a rather fabulous nutella banana bread and this beauty of a coconut banana bread with passion fruit frosting!! It is quick and easy to throw together, a great way to use up brown bananas that you had big plans on eating healthily with but instead they withered away in your fruit bowl, and I consider it a semi healthy treat vs a big pan of fudgy brownies so it's win win all round! 

I totally devoured the first two banana breads I baked without taking any photos of them at all, bad blogger, and I nearly did the same with this so I got out my camera and took a few lazy token shots just to give you the idea.  I promise I'll put some more effort into the next bake I feature!!

All you really need to know is that you haven't tried banana bread until you've tried this one! I'm forever trying to 'coconu-tify' every bake I make, so a cup of dessicated coconut was an easy way to do so in this bake...and oh the frosting, I ate the leftover frosting by the spoonful and you'll want to as well! I found this amazing passion fruit coulis on the shelf in tesco one day and just knew I wanted to bake with it, so it's been sitting in my cupboard waiting for it's debut! All I needed to do was whip a few tablespoons of it into some vanilla frosting to produce the creamiest dreamiest passion fruit frosting.  It was too easy to be true! but it was...and then a sprinkling of shredded coconut and real passion fruit seeds tied it all together nicely! 

I made this as a treat for the pack lunches that I made for all the ladies at my church when we went on a nice little trip together last weekend.  Within a few minutes of people trying the banana bread, they were all offering to move in with me so I think it went down pretty well :)

Coconut Banana Bread with Passion Fruit Frosting:

Serves 12

Adapted from Whipped the Blog

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 large, ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup desiccated coconut

2 cups icing sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup passion fruit coulis
seeds of half a passion fruit
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.  Grease your loaf tin with butter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sifted flour, soda, salt and sugar.  
Mix in the slightly beaten eggs and mashed bananas.
Slowly stir in the melted butter until just incorporated. 
Stir in the desiccated coconut.
Pour into your prepared tin, and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.  If the top starts to brown sooner than you would like, cover with tin foil to prevent burning.  Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire baking rack to cool completely.

Prepare the frosting by whipping the butter in a freestanding mixer with the beater attachment.  Sift in the icing sugar, stir it with a spoon before you turn on the mixer to ensure your work surfaces do not get covered in a dusting of icing sugar.  Beat in the passion fruit coulis. 
Spread the frosting on to the cooled loaf with a palette knife.  Sprinkle the shredded coconut on top and cover with the passion fruit seeds.

Eat and enjoy :)

Some Tasty Valentine's Treats From Hotel Chocolat

So February 14th is fast approaching! and if you've not thought of anything tasty for your special someone just yet then Hotel Chocolat has a great range of Valentine's goodies.

I was sent this Valentine's Goody Bag to try out, and what a treat it was when it arrived on my doorstep! I am a big Hotel Chocolat fan...their products are far superior to most other chocolate shops out there on the high street, it is my number one choice of chocolate gifts when Christmas or birthday's roll around so I was intrigued to see what their Valentine's goody bag offered.  I loved the packaging it arrived in - a sleek gift bag, tied with a ribbon and a cellophane window at the front so you could peek through and see the goodies! The contents inside were:

A box of 6 'Love-Me-Do Passion Fruit Truffles': These were white chocolate on the outside, filled with a passion fruit puree ganache.  I am a lover of all things passion fruit and I loved how zingy the filling was.  I also loved the super cute little card and envelope they included for you to fill in - no detail was left unnoticed and I love little things like that!

A box of 6 assorted heart truffles - passion fruit, raspberry smoothie and caramel gianduja: This box included 2 of the passion fruit truffles like before, 2 caramel gianduja truffles which had a praline like filling of sweet caramel and 2 raspberry smoothie flavoured ones which were really sweet with a fruity raspberry tang.

 A slab of 'Love-Me-Do Raspberry Fusion': Milk and white chocolate with crispy bits and crushed raspberry confetti.  I wasn't sure how the combination of milk chocolate and raspberry was going to work together but the tartness of the raspberry balanced the sweetness of the milk chocolate perfectly and the addition of the crispy bits gave a nice texture.

'Strawberry Heart Lick': A strawberry flavoured white chocolate lollipop.  This was fruity and refreshing and moreishly delicious!

All in all, I think the whole goody bag is awesome value for £19.00, and the standard of chocolates inside is as you would expect with Hotel Chocolate - very high quality, and I loved the inventive flavours like raspberry smoothie filled truffles and passion fruit ganache - definitely not your standard flavours you would find in other boxes of chocolates.  The packaging and attention to detail also makes it perfect as a well thought out gift - I think this would certainly brighten anyone's Valentine's Day!

I received this complimentary gift from Hotel Chocolat, but all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Overload Ganache Cookie Cake

 You know how sometimes you take really bad pictures that you don't ever think should see the light of day! Well, that's what happened with this bake! I made this for Byron's birthday last April whilst we were still living in Vancouver...he had been away for a week on a forestry trip in the middle of nowhere up North and my sister and mom had arrived from England 3 days before he got back.  We had been busy touring Seattle and Vancouver Island and had been surviving on very little sleep, it was a hectic time but I knew no birthday could pass without sufficient delicious celebrations! hence this cake! but also hence why the pictures were a bit of an afterthought, it was super dark once I finished making it and we were all just too desperate to eat it for me to faff around!

 

 So I wasn't intending to blog it, but I came across these pictures today and remembered how decadently delicious it was, and how many peanut butter lovers I know there are out there who need to know about this cake!

So please forgive the pictures...and let's talk about the cake!

 

 It is essentially a giant cookie, baked in a cake pan...but not just any cookie, a cookie filled to the brim with not only chocolate chips but also peanut butter chips!

Once the cookie has baked, you cover it in some deliciously creamy marshmallow fluff, which has been heated slightly so it's easier to spread out.  You then throw mini marshmallows, micro chocolate chips and mini peanut butter cups on top (I may or may not have waited for the fluff to cool so my toppings all melted into the fluff which doesn't make for the prettiest pictures but it was rather delicious still!) 

At this point, in the original recipe you would whip up a batch of peanut butter frosting and cover the sides and top of the cake...only I had run out of icing sugar - I know, what kind of baker runs out of icing sugar! 

So since I was still in my ganache cures everything phase...I whipped up a batch of peanut butter chocolate ganache and just piped around the top of the cake with that, adorning each little swirl of ganache with either a peanut butter cup or a micro marshmallow.  

Every ounce of this cake is decadent, and not for the faint hearted! but if you like a lot of sugar, and a lot of peanut butter, and chocolate then this cake is surely for you! My husband LOVED it!

and I fell in love with peanut butter chocolate ganache - who knew it would be so tasty!

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Overload Ganache Cookie Cake:

Serves 12-14

Adapted from Sprinkle Bakes

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookie:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup caster sugar

2/3 cup soft light brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups plain flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Grease a 10 inch cake pan with butter and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars until well combined.  Add in the eggs and vanilla extract.  Beat again until well mixed.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda.  Pour flour mixture into the butter and mixture and mix until a thick batter forms and the flour is just incorporated.  Add both types of chips and mix on the lowest speed until combined.  

Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula so the cookie is flat on top.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Turn cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Marshmallow Topping:

1 cup marshmallow fluff

3 tbsp micro mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup mini marshmallows

15 mini peanut butter cups, halved

Spray a small bowl with cooking spray and place the 1 cup marshmallow fluff in the bowl.  Heat gently in the microwave for 20-30 seconds, or until just loosened and pour into the centre of the cookie.  Spread evenly over the top.

Wait for it to cool, or if you're impatient like me throw all the toppings on top.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache:

5 oz. dark chocolate

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup double cream, heated

Chop up the dark chocolate into small pieces and put into a bowl.  Add the peanut butter to the bowl.

Heat up the cream gently in a saucepan and once hot, pour into the bowl of chocolate and peanut butter.  Leave it for 2 minutes to melt the chocolate, and then stir like crazy with a spoon until all the chocolate has melted and the peanut butter has been incorporated into the ganache.

Put it into a piping bag, and pipe swirls of ganache around the outside of the cake.

Top each alternate swirl with a chopped mini peanut butter cup, or a micro mini marshmallow.

Eat and enjoy!

Milk Chocolate Chunk & Coconut Cookies: Just like Ben's Cookies!

A few months back, a colleague from work went to the States for the first time.  He came back raving about how awesome all the food was he had there, and of course I was only to happy to join in that conversation with him! So we talked about the deliciousness of the cheesecake factory and how awesome Ghiradelli chocolate is and before I was even able to tell him about my favourite slab of Ghiradelli he beat me to it and started gushing about the toasted coconut milk chocolate bar! 

For the rest of the day I could not get that bar of delightful-ness out of my head! 

 

 All week I was dreaming up milk chocolate and coconut creations, when at the same time I started to have another craving...for Ben's Cookies! We used to get these cookies all the time down South...in Covent Garden as a child or Oxford and Brighton as a teenager.  There was even that one time we visited Coventry for the day as I was possibly considering Uni there...and when I saw they had a Ben's cookies that nearly swayed it for me! So I just assumed there were Ben's Cookies stores all over the UK! So when my craving hit, I googled to see if there was one in Edinburgh or Glasgow and to my horror there wasn't!!

 You see the thing that makes Ben's Cookies so delicious in my opinion, is that they don't just use measley little chocolate chips - oh no, they use great big chunks of chocolate that leave gooey molten pools of yumminess in your cookies! 

 

So I decided it was time to make my own (since I will sadly not be making it down South anytime soon)! I followed a recipe that I had baked waaay back in 2008 and at the time I remember thinking the cookies tasted pretty similar to Ben's Cookies!

This time I added some shredded coconut into the batter, and a drop of coconut extract so amp up the coconut flavour! 

...and let's have one more close up on why these are the best cookies - yep, those huge gooey globs of chocolate! 

I officially started my maternity leave this week - Baby Braithwaite has one more week until it's due date :) so you can expect lots more blogging around here! and I'm hoping lots more baking too!

In the meantime if you're missing out on Ben's Cookies too...or needing a chocolate and coconut fix then these cookies are definitely for you!

 Milk Chocolate Chunk and Coconut Cookies: Ben's Cookies Style

Makes 16

Adapted from Cookie Carnival

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

3 cups plus 2 tbsp plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

16 oz/450g milk chocolate, chopped into chunks

1/2 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, or silicone cookie mats and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Beat in the coconut extract (you could also use vanilla if you can't get hold of coconut extract).

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt together in a a separate large bowl.  Add the dry ingredients 1/3 at a time to the mixer, and mix until just combined.   Fold in the chocolate chunks.  Stir in the shredded coconut.  

Using an ice cream scoop to get nice uniform size chunky cookies, scoop out the dough onto the baking trays.  You should get 8 cookies on each sheet, or if you have smaller trays place 6 balls of dough on each sheet because the cookies will spread.  Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking trays, and then transfer them over to wire racks to cool completely.

Make sure you eat the cookies warm to get the full effect of all that gooey chocolate, or if you're eating them at a later time then just buzz each one in the microwave for 15 seconds.

Eat and enjoy!

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Yule Log

So for Christmas this year, I didn't really end up doing much baking! That's what is great about being at my parents house surrounded by keen bakers! One sister whipped up our tropical pineapple Trifle for Christmas day dessert, another one made up some mango and ginger syllabubs, along with some homemade mince pies too!  and since I'm now 8 months pregnant I was quite happy to sit back and let it all happen, although I couldn't resist whipping up some mint magic bars with ghiradelli mint choc chips my sis had received from America and also a batch of lime curd! 

However, that was pretty restrained for me! So by the time I got to my in laws I knew I wanted to make a fancy Christmas dessert...and there had been plenty of hints dropped about how they were expecting some baked goods from me so I didn't want to disappoint! Being the huge peanut butter lovers they are, I decided to experiment with a peanut butter and chocolate yule log after the success of my coconut and chocolate yule log last Christmas.

I made a whipped peanut butter cream filling which worked perfectly with the rich chocolate-y frosting on the outside of the log, and the icing on the cake was a whole bundle of mini Reese's peanut butter cups that my sister attached to my prezzie this year! It was a great alternative to the traditional yule log...whilst still remaining festively fun! 

Since my trusty Kitchenaid has been at my sister's flat in London ever since we were in Canada, I have been pretty lost without it! I jumped at the chance of testing out this Tefal mixer to see if it was up to the job of baking such a complex dessert! 

The first thing that struck me was just how light it was! I'm used to my beast of a Kitchenaid which is so heavy to lug around! (hence why it was still in London because there was no way my sister could have carried it on the tube to bring it back to me!) but to cart this around with us over the Christmas period was super easy! It's lightness made me question whether it was going to be sturdy enough to cope with the bake I had planned...but it managed every step with ease.

It creamed the butter and sugar like a dream, with just a few scrapings down the side to incorporate it altogether, and it was so efficient in whipping the cream that I turned my back for a second and the cream was done!

 Despite having reduced power from what I'm used to with my Kitchenaid it did exactly what I needed it to do, and coped with every stage of my baking brilliantly! When I had it on the fourth speed setting, it did sound a bit like it was going to take off! but aside from that it worked like a dream and considering it's only £99 I'd say you get your money's worth for sure.

The mixing bowl isn't huge, so if you're planning to do large batches of baking like double batches of cupcakes or triple layer cakes then it might not be the mixer for you but for everyday baking it's certainly a cheaper alternative to the higher spec models out there and works just as well!

 Argos have large ranges of Tefal appliances available to buy here.

So if you're a peanut butter lover, then save this recipe away for next Christmas - it's a crowd pleaser for sure!

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Yule Log:

Serves 10-12

From Cupcake Crazy Gem

For the cake:

6 eggs

170g caster sugar

140g plain flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

For the filling:

284ml double cream

6 tbsp smooth peanut butter
3 tbsp condensed milk (optional)

40g caster sugar

For the frosting:

1 cup unsalted butter

3 1/2 cups icing/powdered sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 tbsp milk

14 mini Reese's peanut butter cups

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.

Grease and line a swiss roll tin with baking parchment.  

Beat the eggs and sieved sugar together with an electric whisk for about 8 minutes until thick and creamy.  

Mix the flour, cocoa and baking powder together, then sift into the egg mixture.  Fold in very carefully, the pour into the tin.  Now tip the tin from side to side to spread the mixture into the corners.  Bake for 16-18 minutes.  

Lay a sheet of baking parchment on the work surface.  When the cake is ready, tip it onto the parchment, peel off the lining paper, then roll the cake up from the longest edge with the paper inside.  Leave to cool.  

Whip the double cream until peaks form.  Add in the peanut butter and the sugar until stiff peaks form.  At this point I underestimated the strength of the mixer and over whipped the cream slightly, so I added the condensed milk to give a creamier texture.  If you keep an eye on your cream you shouldn't need to do this.

Once completely cool, unravel the cake and spread the peanut butter cream over the top. 

Then, roll the log back up again and refrigerate whilst making the chocolate frosting. 

Cream butter for a few minutes in a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed.  Sieve sugar and cocoa powder into the mixing bowl 1 cup at a time.  On low speed, mix the ingredients until they come together.  Increase mixer to medium, and add the vanilla extract and milk and mix until incorporated.  Increase mixer to high speed and beat for 3 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.  

Take the log out of the fridge, and spread the frosting on thickly using a palette knife.  Use a fork to mark the frosting to give the effect of tree bark.  Go around in a circle to make knots.  Sprinkle with chopped Reese's peanut butter cups to finish off your peanut butter creation!

Eat and enjoy!

--> Please note Argos kindly donated the mixer for review, but all opinions expressed are my own. 

Candy Cane Swirled Festive Fudge...and the Christmas baking begins!

 So how is it the 15th December and we're only just getting around to talking about Christmas?! Craziness! I am all about festive overloads! but this year has just been crazy busy and sadly Christmas baking has taken a backseat.  If you find yourself in the same situation, this is a great little no bake recipe to have up your sleeve because it is sooo easy to throw together and is a total crowd pleaser!

 It is also a good cheats version of fudge...using only melted chocolate mixed in with condensed milk - how can you go wrong with that! So a milk chocolate layer of fudge goes down first, with a white chocolate layer spread on top (with liberal amounts of crushed candy canes mixed in) because in my opinion it's not a Christmas bake unless peppermint is involved! You swirl the two together, and sprinkle with whole chunks of candy cane! 

What you get is a smooth creamy chocolatey fudge with hints of peppermint and crunch coming through from the candy canes! A delight for the eyes...and the tastebuds! 

and if you want to give it out as gifts as I did, it goes beautifully in these super cute festive bags...complete with pegs and tags! My mom sent me these in a package and I couldn't get over how awesome they were! 

Candy Cane Swirled Festive Fudge:

Makes 28 chunks

From Your Cup of Cake

300g milk chocolate

100g dark chocolate

1 (397g) can condensed milk

400g white chocolate

1 (397g) can condensed milk

3/4 cup crushed candy canes (about 10 candy canes unwrapped and zapped in a blender)

 extra chopped up candy canes for sprinkling on top

Line your 11x7" pan with parchment paper, and lightly grease it with butter.

 Break up your milk and dark chocolate into pieces, and place it in a heatproof bowl above a pan of boiling water.  Stir until melted.  Once completely melted, stir in the can of condensed milk.

Spread the chocolate fudge over the bottom of your pan.

Break up your white chocolate into pieces, and place in a heatproof bowl above a pan of boiling water,  Whilst it is melting, unwrap your 10 candy canes and blitz them in a food processor/blender until they are completely crushed.  Once chocolate is melted, stir in the can of condensed milk.

Remove from the heat and stir in the crushed candy canes.

Spread over the milk chocolate fudge layer.  Using a knife swirl the two fudges together to create a marbled effect, by dragging the knife in 'S' patterns through the fudge.

Finish, by chopping up candy cane chunks and sprinkling them on top.

Refrigerate for around an hour or longer.

Eat and enjoy! 

New Job Snickers Cupcakes!

 

I recently got a new job! I had been temping for a month as a receptionist for an oil company, and they asked me if I was interested in the job permanently - I told them I definitely was! but then had to explain my situation, because I wasn't showing back then! so I explained how I was pregnant and due Feb 4th! They had some other candidates to interview alongside me, and so the tense wait began! I'm clearly not the best prospect in the world as in 8 weeks time I'll be heading off on maternity leave! but through some definite answered prayers I was offered the job! At 6 months pregnant...I took that as quite an achievement! I decided some baking was in order to celebrate! and since I work in an office with 40 men and 2 women I tried to think of the manliest cupcakes I could bake! I decided snickers would be a good place to start and these cupcakes were born! 

A moist chocolate sponge with a snickers slither baked in the middle, filled with caramel, topped with a caramel frosting, broken up pieces of snickers and nuts and a drizzle of chocolate! To say they went down well is an understatement! I'm not sure there were any left past 10.30am! and I thought I was the only one with a big enough sweet tooth to eat cupcakes for breakfast! 

All day long my inbox pinged with emails coming through from all the different engineers thanking me for the cakes! Here is a selection of my favourite comments... 

"Were you in the cupcake business before working here? That is some serious cupcake equipment you have left on the filing cabinet! and the cupcakes are darn good!" Paul the engineer

"Congratulations! Mary Berry would be proud of that tray." Chris the engineer

"Wowzers!!  Those cakes are shamazing!!! You should sell them."  Colin the engineer

"Gemma… the muffins are DE-licious. That’s what heaven must taste like." Sundeep the engineer, who I had a little chat with to educate him on the difference between a muffin and a cupcake, haha!

I have now created quite a stir in the office and there's lots of pressure for more baking to come their way!  They kept asking me when I was going to bring in snickers cupcakes again, and then someone asked me if I could bake other things besides snickers cupcakes...so I emailed them a link to the recipe index on here and now it's all the office talks about! I don't really think they understand the blogging thing so it's referred to as 'the list'...and it's doing the rounds! People are requesting bakes left, right and centre...first it was my blueberry and banana bread, then the chocolate malt layer cake and now someone has even asked me to make a Christmas cake for their mom...which is quite a task! 

I'm thinking when I eventually go on maternity leave, I could probably just make a living driving by my work once a week and doing a baking drop off! haha

Snickers Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting:

Makes 24 regular and 18 mini cupcakes

From Kiss My Whisk

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes:

1 box devil's food cake mix
1 small package Jello instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups chocolate chips
18 mini Snickers bars (you'll need about 27 to 30 total)

Caramel Frosting:

2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
4 cups powdered sugar
9 to 12 mini Snickers

1/4 cup salted peanuts

1/4 cup melted milk chocolate, for drizzling

Line cupcake pan with cases and preheat oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F.

In a large bowl mix together all ingredients, except Snickers. Spoon or pour cupcake batter into cupcake pan. Stuff one mini Snickers in each cupcake case, using a spatula to make sure the Snickers is covered with cupcake batter.

Bake regular sized cupcakes for about 23 to 28 minutes and mini's for 12-15 minutes.  Test that the tops bounce back when pressed with a finger, since sticking a toothpick or knife into the middle of the cake will result in a gooey Snickers mess!

Cool in the cupcake pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Make the frosting by mixing brown sugar, butter and milk in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts. Once butter melts, increase heat to medium high and let boil for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar.

Leave frosting to sit in the bowl for about 5-10 minutes and it will thicken enough for you to pipe it.

 

Crumble 9 to 12 mini Snickers in blender or food processor.  Also, blitz salted peanuts so they resemble a fine crumb.

Pipe frosting onto cupcakes and top with the crumbled mixture of Snickers and nuts. 

Melt milk chocolate in microwave safe bowl in 30 second intervals, and then drizzle over the top.

Eat and enjoy!