Marmite cupcakes

• Combine the sugar and water in a medium sized saucepan until it dissolves.
• Bring it to the boil, without stirring, until it’s a deep amber colour.
• Brush down the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in water to prevent crystallisation.

• Swirl for even browning.
• Remove from heat once desired colour is reached.
• Whisk in cream carefully.
• Add Marmite to taste once it’s cooled down enough to taste it without burning your lips and tongue, but warm enough to melt and blend in the Marmite easily.
• Set aside a small bowl of the caramel into which you can mix more Marmite, making a much stronger ‘hit’. This I used for the centres, the rest will be mixed into the frosting.

• Make your Marmite chocolate ganache by melting the chocolate in a bain marie and mixing in the cream and Marmite.
• I set aside a portion which had a stronger Marmite taste for the centres.
• Make fresh coffee! You probably need a little break after all that and you will need it for your chocolate cupcake recipe.
• Or, true believers (fanatics dare I say…), hot Marmite drink…

• Whisk the liquids (fresh coffee or Marmite) into the cocoa powder.
• When smooth add the cold water.
• Leave aside while…
• In a mixing bowl or food mixer, beat room temperature butter and sugar together for at least ten minutes on a high speed (if using a mixer).
• Keep scraping the sides down yeah?
• Add egg slowly, very slowly, to make sure the mixture doesn’t curdle.
• Sieve flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt together.
• Fold the flour mix into your egg/sugar mix…but! Attention…
• Start by folding in a third of the Flour then a third of the cocoa/coffee/Marmite mixture
• It needs to be folded in alternately, starting with the flour, 1/3 at a time, otherwise it will be too stiff and won’t take the liquid

Baking

• Divide your chocolate mixtures into a cupcake tin, weighing as described above, to ensure equal distribution.
• Muffin tin must ideally be lined with strong baking cases. You need ’em sturdy to have a sharp strong edge that you can frost ‘against’.
• Bake for 20-22 minutes in 160c degree conventional oven.
• In Aga I baked for 20 minutes in the baking oven. I found they rose better without the cool shelf.

Frosting and filling

• When baked (they should spring back when touched) take them out carefully, trying not to separate the baking cases from the cake and cool on racks.
• When cool, take a small knife and cut out a cone shaped wedge from the centre of the cake to make a hole
• Lift out the centre of the cake and fill with either the strong Marmite chocolate ganache.
• Replace the little ‘hat’ or centre
• Taking your frosting, mix some of the Marmite chocolate ganache into it. Again, be careful you don’t add so much that the frosting is not stiff enough to ice your cakes.
• Frost the chocolate cupcakes with a palette knife with the Marmite chocolate frosting.

Boiling caramel (wet version, there is a dry version, but this is easier)

Adding cream to the caramel…fait attention ca brule!

Adding XO Marmite to the caramel

Pouring the cream onto the chocolate

Whisking cream into the ganache

Hardcore! Adding Marmite to the chocolate ganache for the centres…

If it looks like this, you haven’t scraped the sides down…

The blessings of a good strong cupcake case

We’re going in…

Reminiscent of sticky toffee pudding in taste

Cupcake autopsy…this is what they look like inside…

The decoration can be ordered online…

A little glitz…

A review of Marmite cupcakes from Easy Living Magazine

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