Wow...that's a long title for cupcakes that took an even longer time to make ;)! I enjoyed coming up with this fun recipe for ice cream cupcakes. It was kind of exciting trying to figure out how I'd convert a sticky toffee pudding recipe into a sticky toffee pudding cupcake recipe. Initially, I was a little worried that the cupcakes would come out a bit gooey, but with some recipe-improvising, I was able to figure out a way to give the gooey pudding a cupcakey texture. I used one less egg and substituted the butter with canola oil.
The tricky thing about making these cupcakes was the dairy free part...so when it came time to make the 'caramel cream cheese frosting', I ran into a few problems that led to unexpected discoveries! Normally I'd use heavy cream to make caramel sauce, but this time I used soy creamer. I was hoping it'd be a tad bit thicker than soy milk, and possibly serve as a nice alternative to heavy cream, but I was wrong. The soy creamer pretty much dissolved as soon as it hit the caramel colored, burnt sugar; it's almost like it took on the form of water. Strange. Anyone have any tips on how to make dairy free caramel? I could sure use 'em!
On to the unexpected discoveries... Since the caramel sauce was watery, I decided it'd have a richer taste if it was combined with something like tofutti cream cheese frosting (I've made caramel sauce in the past, but for some reason, it really wasn't working out for me this time -- I had to re-do it 3 times!). I also had some issues with the tofutti cream cheese frosting (probably because I've never made any kind of cream cheese frosting before ;) -- it turned out a little on the watery side, but all was not lost! The end result was a lightly flavored, creamy and syrupy caramel sauce that nicely complemented the rich pudding-based cupcakes and crunchy soy ice cream.
Next time I make these cupcakes, I'd like to make the soy ice cream. I don't have an ice cream maker at the moment, so I wasn't able to do it this time around. I do think I experimented enough with the cupcakes and topping, though. But I wonder how the ice cream would've turned out if I tried making that dairy free?!
I'd now like to take the time to applaud each and every talented dairy-free baker/blogger who effortlessly creates delicious treats...how do you all do it?!
I had so many of these cupcakes, and I knew my husband and I wouldn't be able to finish even half of the batch, so I thought I'd have him take another version of them to work. I knew it'd be too messy to transport the cupcakes with an entire scoop of ice cream on top, so I packed them up in a container and covered them in the caramel cream cheese sauce, instead. I then used a teaspoon to scoop a tiny serving of ice cream on top of the saucy frosting. To give them a somewhat cute look, I threw an almond on top of the dab of ice cream. They ended up resembling a big sticky mess by the time his coworkers got to them, but I love sharing baked goods with folks. Who doesn't love getting an unexpected treat at work -- doesn't it make the day go by a little faster :)? Below is a picture of the cupcakes Jose took to work, version 2 of the sticky toffee pudding cupcakes.
Further reading: BBC Good Food baking guidance.