Rahul's autumnal ginger and caramel cupcake

Friday 9 November at 9:11pm

He’s just been crowned Bake Off champion, which is surprising given that Rahul Mandal made his first cake just two years ago!

Swapping the Bake Off tent for our kitchen, Rahul joins us to talk about his big win, and whips up his autumn caramel cupcakes in his first-ever live bake.

Serves: makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

100g baking spread (room temperature)

60g dark brown sugar

50g golden syrup

2 medium eggs (room temperature)

125g self-rising flour, plus a little extra to dust

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

5 knobs of stem ginger, chopped finely

For the caramel sauce:

200g caster sugar

60ml water

200ml double cream

2 tsp ground ginger

1½ tsp sea salt flakes

For the caramel cream cheese frosting:

300ml double cream

150ml mascarpone

100g caramel sauce (cooled)

Method

Preheat the oven to 160C and line a 12-hole muffin tray with cupcake cases
This is a quick all in one method - place all the ingredients for the cupcakes (apart from the chopped stem ginger) in a mixing bowl and whisk for about 2 minutes using an electric whisk to combine thoroughly. Scatter some flour over the chopped stem ginger, and fold them gently into the cake batter.
Fill a piping bag with the batter and pipe into the cupcake cases to about ¾ full. Bake in the preheated oven for 18 minutes. Once cooked, take them out of the oven and leave to cool.
Place the caster sugar and water in a large heavy-based pan and place over a low heat for 3 to 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and there are no crystals. Increase the heat and simmer rapidly until the caramel turns golden brown. Remember not to stir during this time, just give the occasional swirl if needed. Warm the double cream in a microwave or in a saucepan.
When the caramel reaches a golden colour, take it off from the heat and add the double cream and whisk continuously. Bring it back to the heat and let it boil for about 5-10 minutes, or until thickened and slightly darker. Add the salt and ginger and pour it into a shallow dish and let it cool in fridge.
When the cupcakes have cooled, pour half the caramel into a piping bag and pipe some caramel sauce inside each cupcake
To make the cream cheese frosting, whisk all the ingredients together using an electric hand whisk until stiff peaks form. Decorate the top of the cupcakes with the frosting