Brown Sugar Butterfly Cakes with Caramel Creme Fraiche

I've been away on holiday in beautiful South Australia. Did you miss me? I missed you guys so much I consoled myself with cake nearly every single day. I visited every cake shop and bakery I saw and sampled their sweet delights with you in mind. Really, I did. I ate Bee Sting Cake in Victor Harbor and I stood slack-jawed and wide-eyed as I perused the beautiful array of macarons, tarts and Black Forest Cakes in Hahndorf . I ate Coffee Cake in McLaren Vale and savoured theee best Greek Vanilla Slice in Port Elliot. So now you know just how much I missed you, right? AND I came straight home, inspired by my travels, and made you these little butterfly cakes... And if that isn't love, I don't know what is. xxxxx


Brown Sugar Butterfly Cakes with Caramel Creme Fraiche
Makes 12

For the Butterfly Cakes:
100g cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs
50g golden caster sugar
40g light brown sugar
50g unsalted butter, melted

For the Caramel Creme Fraiche:
100g creme fraiche
100g whipping cream
4 tablespoons caramel sauce

Make the Butterfly Cakes:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line a muffin pan with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs with the sugars until pale and tripled in volume.

Triple sift the flour and baking powder and then sift it over the top of the butter and sugar mixture. Using a large metal spoon, gently fold in the flour. Pour in the melted butter and fold it in. Divide the batter evenly into the prepared liners. Fill to 3/4 full. Do not over-fill (you may have a little batter leftover) and bake for 18-20 minutes, until they are golden and spring back when the tops are gently pressed. Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning them out to cool completely in a wire rack.

Make the Caramel Creme Fraiche:
Put the creme fraiche, cream and 3 tablespoons of the caramel sauce into a mixing bowl until whipped to soft peaks. Place it in a piping bad with no nozzle.

Assemble the Butterfly Cakes:
Once cool, use a sharp knife to cut out a round in the centre of each cake. Pipe the caramel cream into the hole of the cupakes. Cut the rounds of cake in half and place them, butterfly-wing fashion, on top of the cakes. Drizzle with remaining caramel sauce.