Coffee And Pecan Cupcakes

Sometimes you just have to find a time to stop and  indulge. What could be better at the rainy afternoon than to treat yourself to a lovely home made cupcake with a hot cuppa? Someone would say, there is nothing new about cupcakes and everything was told already. Who would have thought that you could make cupcakes so irresistible? So here we’ve done this sweet little treat for you. This easy to do Coffee And Pecan Cupcakes recipe probably does the job and the result hits your palate with a gentle punch.

Ingredients

2 tablespoon instant coffee granules
4 tablespoons boiling water
125g (4oz) caster sugar
125g (4oz) butter, softened
2 large eggs
125g (4oz) self-rising flour
40g (1 1/2oz) pecan halves, chopped

For the praline

100g caster sugar
40g pecan halves chopped

For the topping

200g icing sugar
3 tablespoon crème fraîche
150 softened unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line a muffin tin with medium to large holes with paper liners.
To make the coffee syrup, put the coffee into a glass or cup with the boiling water and mix together with the 2 tablespoons of caster sugar. Mix it together until the sugar is melted.

Beat the butter together with the caster sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time. Sift the flour and drizzle in three tablespoons of the coffee syrup and whisk together until combined. Mix the pecans to the batter.

Divide the mixture between the cases, filling them about  3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and lightly golden. Prick the tops of the hot cupcakes with a fork and then spoon over the remaining coffee syrup allowing it to soak in. Remove the cakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the praline, cook the caster sugar gently over low heat until the sugar is melted. Once it has melted, increase the heat a little and simmer until it turns a deep caramel. Add the pecans, stir quickly and pour the praline onto a lined baking tray with parchment. Spread it out and leave it to cool completely until set.

To make the buttercream, beat the icing sugar, the crème fraîche and butter until smooth. Spread the butter cream on top of each cold cake with a palette knife. Bash the praline using a rolling pin to break it up and sprinkle with a little bit of the praline on top of each cake. Another option is to decorate your cupcake with a personalised cupcake topper.