Maltesers (Bunny) Cupcakes

I've been following Cupcake Jemma on Instagram for a while, so when she recently opened a bakery - Crumbs & Doilies - in Kingly Court, Soho, I was obviously intrigued. Throw in a detailed cake of Westeros and I was officially a little obsessed. Good heavens, the cakes look outstanding. I'm not joking when I say the Crumbs & Doilies Instagram page is absolute filth - the cupcakes are beautiful, but it's the full-sized cakes that are simply stunning, from expertly blended ombre frosting to dripping chocolate over crisp white buttercream, these cakes were made for social media, no filter required.

No surprises, but it instantly shot to the top of my list of places to visit when I'm next in London (and not dieting...). Having stalked the Instagram page for long enough I headed over to YouTube for a look at the recipe tutorials, and that's where I found these Maltesers Cupcakes.

Determined as I was to try them out, in the spirit of all things Easter it seemed only fitting to swap in an iconic Maltesers Bunny on the top for a suitably themed batch of cupcakes. They definitely did not disappoint...

The original recipe can be found on the Cupcake Jemma YouTube channel here (and below), but it's also typed below with my notes and photographs, as usual.

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
5g cocoa powder
25g Horlicks (Malted milk drink powder, Ovaltine or Milo are good alternatives)
95g self-raising flour
125g caster sugar
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
135g unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tbsp whole milk

For the buttercream:
200g unsalted butter, softened
450g icing sugar, sifted
4 tbsp whole milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 bag (120g) Maltesers
12 mini Maltesers Bunnies* (or alternatively 3 Maltesers per cupcake / crushed Maltesers)

*N.B. there are 5 mini bunnies per pack - I spent ages trying to work it out in the shop... 

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170C and line a 12 Hole Deep Bun Tin with paper cases.

In a mixing bowl or a free-standing electric mixer with a paddle attachment, add the self-raising flour, cocoa powder, Horlicks, bicarbonate of soda, salt and caster sugar. Mix them together.

Add the unsalted butter to the dry ingredients and mix.

Add the eggs and beat for a minute or two, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Stir in the vanilla extract and milk, and mix thoroughly for 30 seconds until smooth. Divide the cake batter between the cases. I found one scoop of batter using my trusty Lakeland Ice-Cream Scoop was the perfect quantity, as ever.

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until they're springy to touch. Allow to cool slightly in the tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

While cooling, make the buttercream. Beat the butter for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy.

Add the icing sugar in 2 batches, beating for 2-3 minutes in between each addition.

Add the milk and vanilla extract and beat thoroughly until smooth.

Crush the Maltesers into small pieces. I used a food processor for this, but you can use a bag and rolling pin instead. I particularly enjoy the latter method when I'm in a bad mood... Make sure the Maltesers are well crushed but uneven - you don't want a powder, but at the same time you don't want enormous chunks.

Mix them into the buttercream.

Divide the buttercream on top of the cooled cupcakes. I attempted to pipe it on like in the video above but failed miserably (obviously I need more practise!), so instead settled for smoothing the tops out with a palette knife. Top the cupcakes with a Maltesers Bunny and serve.

Enjoy!

I find recipes that do exactly what they say on the tin extremely hard to find and are often in the minority, so I'm extraordinarily pleased to report that these Maltesers Cupcakes succeeded where so many have failed. The quantities of cake batter and frosting were miraculously absolutely perfect for 12 cupcakes (I normally have a tub of frosting leftover).

To say these went down well would be a bit of an understatement! I took a tin of them into work and they disappeared within minutes... The sponge is light, moist and deliciously malty with merely a hint of chocolate, but it's the frosting that received the most compliments. The crushed Maltesers lift it from a regular vanilla buttercream to something utterly magical and ridiculously moreish.

Maltesers Bunnies are my Easter weakness, so making these was probably one of the most difficult things I've done over the last month! I adore the finished product though so I may have to stockpile bunnies after Easter and make them again in the summer so I can try them too!

What do you think of these cupcakes? Will you be giving them a go over the next week or so in preparation for Easter? Do let me know in the comments below!

[N.B. this post contains affiliate links to Lakeland products.]