Burnt-Butter Brown-Sugar Cupcakes

I made these to take to an Easter Monday recital of lieder A. was giving in preparation for this weekend's Liederfest competitions; just a bunch of friends who are not afraid of giving him feedback and constructive criticism, and then enjoying some sugary cakey delights.
I've wanted to try this recipe for a while, especially as, not only do I currently have golden caster sugar in stock (it's brown caster sugar used in lots of Nigella recipes), but I also have a box of unrefined golden icing sugar! Nigella calls for this in several recipes in Domestic Goddess, but I've noticed it never appears in the American versions of the recipes, as it musn't be available there. Let me assure you, that those recipes suffer for it! Unrefined icing sugar is one of the most spectacular foodie finds I've made in the past year. The recipe for her Winter Plum Cake would not be even close to the splendour it is without this icing sugar. It's a pale brown powder that smells strongly like caramel and gives the icing a completely different flavour - gorgeously fudgey, a hint of bitterness and an aftertaste of toffee. It's not nearly as sweet and harsh as the white powdered stuff, and has a much fuller flavour. It's usually just mixed with a few spoons of water....who knew that water and sugar could taste so spectacular! I really think it is essential to bring the Plum Cake and these burnt butter cupcakes to a level that raises them to something more special.
I buy the golden unrefined icing sugar made by the UK company, Billington's. If you find it anywhere, grab it immediately!!
Anyway, I've been wanting to make this recipe for a while, and when I saw the Amateur Gourmet's post about it, that was the last straw. I had to do it now, and I had to do it the right/original way, with 2 types of golden unrefined sugars! Incidentally, I had the same problem he did with the butter not solidifying, and I ended up bunging mine in the freezer for a few minutes, which seemed to work well. In fact this recipe seems to be idiot-proof, as I chose to halve the recipe, but as I was going along, forgot to halve some of the ingredients like...erm....milk and.....ahem......baking powder. I just had really tall, fluffy cupcakes!
I found the recipe made one huge bowl of icing (and yes, I remembered to halve everything there!) which made a topping of icing as tall as the cakes were themselves! The icing itself was tooth-achingly sweet and rich on its own, but the perfect complement to the cakes, which were smoky and nutty flavoured. Decorated with some sliced pistachios and shredded coconut, these looked really pretty!
Read on for the recipe:
Burnt-Butter Brown Sugar Cupcakes
Nigella Lawson - How to be a Domestic Goddess
12 bun muffin tray lined with muffin papers
for the cupcakes:
150g butter
125g self-raising flour
60g golden caster sugar
65g light brown sugar (or muscovado)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons milk
for the icing:
150g butter
250-300g golden icing sugar, sieved
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons milk
Preheat oven to 200c and start burning the butter. Put butter in a small saucepan on medium heat, stirring all the time until it turns a dark golden colour. Take the pan off the heat and strain the butter into a bowl or cup, as it will have made a sediment. In other words, this is like clarified butter, but with a smoky note. Let the butter solidify again, so it remains soft for the cupcakes.
When the butter is solid, but still soft, put all the cake ingredients except the milk in a food processor and blitz to a smooth batter. As normal, add the milk down the funnel, pulsing sparingly to form a soft, dropping mixture.
Divide between the paper cases, and cook for 15-20 minutes. While the cupcakes are baking, get on with the icing. It's the same procedure for the butter - burn, sieve, solidify - then beat it with half the sieved sugar or enough to make it stiff. Add tablespoons of the milk and the remaining sugar alternately to reach a good consistency, and finally the vanilla.
While the icing's still soft, smear messily over the cooled and waiting cupcakes.
15 Comments:
Oh, Niki...the cupcakes look and sound fantastic!
I truly am going to get one/some of Nigella's books, I promise.
Hmm...I'm wondering about the sugar issue: perhaps there's an on-line company who sells in the states?
Wonderful recipe!
By
Stephanie, at 4/04/2005 03:46:00 am
Btw; I couldn't access your blog for the past few days. Absolutely nothing would show on the page! Nice to have you back...
By
Stephanie, at 4/04/2005 03:47:00 am
Sounds wonderful, plain wonderful! Now I have to check if Billington's will ship to Denmark... Or maybe my organic shop down the street stocks it... Because I wouldn't be able to make them with just ordinary sugar when you've pushed the golden stuff so much!:-)
By
Zarah Maria, at 4/04/2005 04:34:00 am
Yep Niki, I just gotta make these too. I've never seen the golden icing sugar in NZ though.
By
Anonymous, at 4/04/2005 07:13:00 am
burnt butter brown sugar.. oh YUM. i have never seen anywhere to buy these sugars before.. :( and the english version of domestic goddess just calls for regular light brown sugar and confectioner's sugar.. i'm sad that i won't be able to experience the full magic of these sugars!
By
Emily, at 4/04/2005 08:15:00 am
Hi Stephanie - I looked on the Billington's website and noticed they had information for US purchasers. It seems their products are carried at Trader Joes and other places, but they also do online shipping. Check this out - you may have spectacular golden icing sugar coming your way!
http://www.billingtons.co.uk/usa.html
Also check here: http://www.wholesomesweeteners.com
That's odd about the pages not loading; I did have major problems last night posting this entry, but other people have been posting comments to the site in the past few days, so it's really weird.
Zarah Maria - yes, you really must try them! It also gives you a nice feeling knowing you're using organic, real-tasting ingredients. I noticed when checking the site before that you can email them to check supplies in other countries. This is from their site:
" If you would like information about where you can buy Billington's natural unrefined cane sugars overseas, contact us with your request and we will be happy to help on bfg@billingtons.co.uk "
Barbara - I'd guess that they would be available in NZ, if they're here. I find them at two supermarkets near me, but they're not your bog average Safeway or Coles chain. They're both large independent supermarkets with a lot of European suppliers; popular with Europeans and those looking for gourmet ingredients: Leo's in Heidelberg, and Piedemonte's in North Fitzroy. There's evidently some major shipping of Billington's going on, so I'm pretty confident it would get to NZ as well. Do try!
Emily - Are you sure you mean the English version of Domestic Goddess? I have the English (i.e. UK) version, as that is the version we get here in Australia. It's in the US versions that I've seen the non-unrefined sugars in the ingredients. Also, the UK version never uses the term confectioners' sugar, which is purely for US books.....
But don't fear - check what I wrote to Stephanie above. You may still be able to find them!
By
Niki, at 4/04/2005 11:41:00 am
Here in the part of the US where I live I can buy some of the Billington's products at Whole Food Markets. But Golden Icing sugar is not one of those products, so I spoke to the store manager today about getting the product in! And I have also emailed their head office!
In the meantime I am going to 'make' my own golden icing sugar by plonking some golden caster sugar in the food processor and pulsing on and off until the sugar has become powdery!
By
Anonymous, at 4/04/2005 12:06:00 pm
Sandr - Hey, good on you!! Both for speaking to the manager, and giving your own icing sugar a go. I'd be fascinated to know how it works out. Please report back!
By
Niki, at 4/04/2005 12:16:00 pm
Niki,
"Grinding" the sugar in the food processor worked well. I ended up processing 5 cups of sugar in 1/2 cup amounts, way too much for the recipe, I know, but what the heck ;)
The end result of the “grinding” did not give a powdered sugar as fine as store bought stuff, but it was pretty darn close! I was also pleased with the way the sugar worked in the icing, the texture was very good!
And I now have a jar of leftover powdered golden sugar and I am going to use this to make some Sablé Biscuits!
By
Anonymous, at 4/05/2005 04:28:00 am
Have wanted to make those cupcakes but not got around to it...or trying find the golden icing sugar. After seeing yours I went in search of it before ordering online. Not available at the Essential Ingredient, nor at DJ's food hall. Headed to Chaddy to do my grocery shopping this morning and YAY - found some at the deli there!
By
Judi, at 1/22/2008 02:46:00 pm
For people in Sydney - you can find golden icing sugar at Jones the Grocer in Woollahra.
By
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