Brown Butter and Vanilla Cupcakes - Kapukeke Pata Parauri me te Wanira.
A delicious brown butter and vanilla cupcake with a homemade caramel, cream cheese frosting, nuts and a snickers bar slice on top. This vanilla cupcake recipe can be adapted to create your favourite flavour combinations too!
Servings 12 kapukeke (cupcakes)
Ingredients
Brown Butter and Vanilla Cupcake - Kapukeke Pata Parauri me te Wanira
- 160 g pata (butter)
- ¼ C (55 g) huka one (caster sugar)
- ½ C (100 g) huka hāura (brown sugar)
- ¼ tsp tote (salt, fine)
- 2 hēki iti (small eggs, size 6)
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) wanira (vanilla)
- 1 ½ C (225 g) puheu parāoa noa (plain flour)
- 1 ½ teaspoon pēkana paura (baking powder)
- ⅔ C (165 ml) miraka (milk)
The Caramel - Te Karamea
- 75 g pata (butter)
- ½ C (100 g) huka hāura (brown sugar)
- ½ C (125 ml) kirīmi (cream)
- ¼ teaspoon tote (salt, fine)
- 1 teaspoon wanira (vanilla)
Cream Cheese Frosting - Pani Reka Kirīmi Tīhi
- 70 g pata kūteretere (softened butter)
- ½ C (85 g) puehu huka (icing sugar)
- 1 teaspoon wanira (vanilla)
- 200 g kirīmi tīhi (cream cheese,room temperature)
Decorations - Ngā Whakarākei
- ⅓ C nati (nuts, I used honey roasted peanuts, chopped in to small pieces)
- 2 Snickers bars
Instructions
Preheat the Oven:
- Pre-heat the oven to 140 °C.
Brown the Butter:
- Add the chopped pata (butter) in to a medium sized pot or pan. Set over medium heat.
- First, melt the butter, stirring occasionally. As the heat continues the milk fats will start to separate (these are the white, floaty bits). Stir occasionally here so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.
- Keep it on the heat until the butter starts to foam. Stir it a little bit until the brown bits float to the top. It should smell nutty. (Use the pictures and video as a guide).
- From here, stir it a little for another 30 seconds or so, so the butter browns further. This may smoke a little but a little bit of smoke is ok.
Cool:
- Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
Stir the Butter and Sugar:
- Add the slightly cooled pata parauri (brown butter) in to a large bowl.
- Add the huka one (caster sugar), huka hāura (brown sugar) and tote (salt) in to the pata. Stir until smooth.
Whip in the Eggs:
- Stir in the hēki (eggs) one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between each addition. Stir in the wanira (vanilla).
Add the Dry Ingredients and Milk:
- Sift in 1 cup of the puehu parāoa (flour) and all of the pēkana paura (baking powder). Using a whisk, stir for 5 - 10 seconds or until just combined. Add half of the miraka (milk) and stir for 5 - 10 seconds or until just combined.
- Sift in ½ cup of puehu parāoa (flour) in to the mixture and pour in the second half of the miraka (milk). Kōroritia kia māene (stir until smooth).
Add to Cupcake Cases:
- Add ¼ cup of the mixture in to each cupcake case. I used cardboard cases in the video but you can also line 12 x standard muffin tins with paper liners.
Bake the Cupcakes:
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until just baked. They should spring back when pressed in the centre.
Serve the Cupcakes warm:
- If you are keeping the kapukeke (cupcakes) simple, serve them warm as they are.
- You can also add a piece or two pieces of your favourite tiakarete (chocolate) on to each kapukeke (cupcake) as soon as they are removed from the oven. Leave the tiakarete (chocolate) to melt for 5 minutes and then smooth it out with a teaspoon. They are delicious like this but if you want a Snickers vibe continue on with the following steps.
Snickers Cupcakes - Make the Simple Caramel:
- Add the pata (butter), huka hāura (brown sugar) and tote (salt) to a frying pan or a wide pot.
- Heat over medium-high heat until the pata (butter) and huka (sugar) have combined and the sugar is dissolved. It will look separated halfway through but it does come together. Stir occasionally as it simmers for a few minutes after the butter and sugar have come together. You want a nice, deep colour here.
- Pour in the kirīmi (cream). Stir well and simmer for 5 - 7 minutes over medium heat until it starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and stir through the wanira (vanilla). Allow to cool to room temperature, it will thicken as it cools. If you want it thicker, refrigerate or 20 minutes.
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Add the pata kūteretere (softened butter), puehu huka (icing sugar) and wanira (vanilla) until light and fluffy. Add the kirīmi tīhi (cream cheese) and mash to remove lumps. Whip again until smooth for around a minute.
Add the Caramel in to the Cupcakes:
- Add half of the karamea (caramel) to a piping bag with a small round attachment. Pierce the tip in to the kapukeke (cupcake) and squeeze a little bit into each cupcake. If you don't have a piping tip, use a small knife to cut out a small hole in the centre of the cupcake and fill it with karamea (caramel), using a teaspoon .
Add the Frosting and Extra Caramel:
- Pipe or spoon on the pani reka (frosting). I pipe it on and keep a hole in the centre but this is optional.
- Once piped, fill each hole with the remaining karamea (caramel). You can also just drizzle the karamea (caramel) on top of the frosting.
Finish with Nuts and Snickers:
- Sprinkle with the nati kua tapahia (chopped nuts).
- Cut the Snickers into 12 equal pieces and top each cupcake with them. They are ready to enjoy.
Storage Instructions:
- These will keep well in a sealed container, in the cupboard for up to five days.