Hey folks,
Hope you’re well?
It feels like summer has finally arrived in London this week. The sun has shone, it was consistently warm(ish) and we were all just that little bit chirpier. Well, as chirpy as Londoners get, we’re a pretty grumpy bunch even when we’re happy…
It’s been a great weekend mostly spent chilling and basking in some of the aforementioned rays. I’m talking about lazing around in hyde park, iced coffees, cycling down the canals and through the Olympic Park, more iced coffees and actually sitting outside without a coat / jumper on. Oh, and did I mention sipping on iced coffees? I sometimes forget how beautiful London is when it’s sunny. It’s a glorious city that I’m lucky enough to call home. I should really try harder to make the most of it.
This week I’m sharing a new cupcake recipe that I’ve developed after flicking, wistfully through old holiday pics – when it wasn’t so sunny ’round here!
I devoured sampled a ‘Lotus softie’ at the Salt food truck in Dubai and reminiscing about this inspired a cupcake equivalent.
If you haven’t tried these crunchy, caramelised Belgian biscuits with a hint of cinnamon, you’re in for a treat.
They are seriously good.
Moist, biscoff infused, cinnamonny cupcakes topped with a vanilla whipped cream frosting, crumbled Lotus biscuits and a whole biscuit on top for an extra special treat.
You can get a complimentary biscoff spread too, which I drizzled over the top! It’s really well balanced – slightly salty which means the caramelised sweetness isn’t overpowering, in fact, it’s very moreish.
This is the packet in case you’ve not come across them before:
I know it’s hot, but I promise these are totes worth turning your oven on for!
Enjoy,
-Kay
P.S. Add the biscuits and crumbs just before serving else they tend to pick up the moisture from the frosting and go a little soggy!
Ingredients:
Cupcakes
- 250g flour
- 250g caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 100g Lotus Biscoff biscuit spread
- 165g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 180ml buttermilk
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting / Decoration
- 600ml double cream
- 50g mascarpone
- 50g icing sugar
- 5 crushed Lotus Biscoff biscuits
- 100g Lotus Biscoff biscuit spread
- 18 biscuits
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to gas mark 5, line a cupcake tin with 18 cupcake cases.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla extract and whisk again.
- One by one, add the eggs, whisking between each addition.
- Add the biscoff spread and whisk again.
- In a separate bowl, sieve the flour, baking soda and cinnamon, mix well with a balloon whisk.
- Add around a third of the flour mixture to the butter, sugar and eggs and whisk to combine.
- Add half the buttermilk and whisk to combine.
- Repeat with remaining flour and buttermilk until you’ve used up all the ingredients.
- Evenly distribute the cake batter to the cupcake liners.
- Bake your cupcakes for around 18 mins or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Meanwhile, start on your frosting by whisking together the double cream and icing sugar in a large bowl for a couple of mins until nice and frothy.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk the mascarpone for 40seconds, just until it stops being clumpy then add it to the cream.
- Whisk until just it’s just whipped and thick enough to use – don’t over do it! Pop it back in the fridge whilst your cupcakes cool to room temperature.
- Using a piping bag and tip, swirl on the whipped cream frosting.
- To decorate, sprinkle on the crushed biscuits and drizzle on some warmed through spread – I used a bain marie for this, simply place a sauce pan on a low heat with around an inch of water, place a heat proof bowl on top and stir frequently until the biscoff spread has loosened out.
These look absolutely delicious. I LOVE the Lotus biscuits although the only time I usually eat them is when I fly; some airlines serve them lol Nice job 🙂
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Thank you Jess – they’re so delicious aren’t they? I couldn’t believe my eyes when I discovered there was a magical biscoff spread. YUM!
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Spectacular!! This sounds very delicious!!
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Thank you Sumith! Definitely one of my fave recipes that I’ve shared! =)
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Glad to hear you finally have some summer like weather Kay – I remember when living in Yorkshire how the whole country used to go a little bit crazy when the temperature exceeded 25 degrees for a few days ☀️
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Haha – sounds about right, shortly after I posted that it got cold and wet round here again. Saying that, today was glorious! Standard BST – super unpredictable!
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Amazing especially when you enjoy the lotus spread!
The cake is so soft and moist with a touch of cinnamon.
Have made it multiple times each time loved by all!
Served with vanilla ice cream topped with warmed lotus spread sprinkled with lotus crumbs and crushed cornflakes is taking it to another level!
Thank you for the recipe:)
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Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and your feedback Zainab! =]
I’m so happy to hear that it’s a recipe on regular rotation for you! Might have to give the ice cream pairing a go… =]
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How many cupcakes does this recipe yield?
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Nevermind, I see 18
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Let me know if you have any more questions. Happy baking Wendy! =)
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Hope they turned out well Wendy! Enjoy!
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Can I use the same recipe for a cake rather than cupcakes?
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Hi Salma, you can indeed. I’ve doubled it up before for a 3 layer cake. =)
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Thank you so much for your quick reply. Can’t wait to make it for my hubby’s birthday 🙂
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No worries – good luck! =)
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Hi,
I was wondering, can you use whipping cream instead of double cream?
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Hey –
I think that should be fine, although I can’t say I’ve used whipping cream before so you may have to adjust the quantities slightly based on the consistency.
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…….. Hey Kay, I’m from the USA 🇺🇸. Our system is not metric, l also do not have a gas oven. I’m electric. So I’m thinking bake at like 350 degrees, equal to your gas 5? Also, I’m not sure on grams vs ounces, cups. 😂. But I guess I can Google for the conversion. I’m just lazy. Susan
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Hey Susan,
Gas mark 5 = 375 degrees farenheit.
I always measure using scales because I find it’s more accurate than cup measurements. Here’s a site that converts grams to ounces so hopefully this will help with the conversions: http://www.metric-conversions.org/weight/grams-to-ounces.htm
Happy baking!
Kay
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Thank you for the tip. Can’t want to try the cupcakes. Susan
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Hi I’m
Looking to make these tonight but wanted to check if the baking soda is bicarbonate of soda? And whether the flour is self-raising flour?
Thanks
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Hey Ruth,
Yes, baking soda and bicarbonate of soda is the same. And plain flour, not self raising.
Let me know how they turn out! Happy baking!
Kay
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Great! Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.
I’m sure they won’t look quite like the picture but I’ll give it a good go 😊
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Hope they turned out well! =]
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hi there! I am so excited to make these today– however, I unfortunately left my kitchen scale at my old house. Does anyone happen to know the equivalents in measuring cups? Thanks in advance!!
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Hi Chelsea!
I’m so happy you’ve chosen to make these. I’m afraid I don’t have the measurements to hand. Hopefully, this website will help you figure the conversions out though: https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/cooking/cups-grams.php
Happy baking!
– Kay
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I forgot to pick up macarpone. Will it work without? X
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Hi Ceridwen,
Yeah. It will work without, just be mindful that the frosting will be a little bit temperamental because the mascarpone stabilises it.
You’ll want to keep them in the fridge and not store them too long after piping as the cream may collapse after a while.
Hope they turn out delicious.
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