Day three and a cupcake I have been thinking about for a long time: Mallowpuff Cupcakes.

These babies have a malted choc-vanilla cupcake base (Ovaltine to the rescue!), a pool of salted caramel in the middle, and a huge swirl of marshmallow all dipped in chocolate as a crown. They’re inspired by a New Zealand chocolate biscuit – the Mallowpuff. I bought some to get myself in the mood.

Mallowpuffs

Martha Stewart makes these and calls them “hi-hat” cupcakes, but I’m a Kiwi and I’m sticking with what I know. Anyway, Martha didn’t think of the caramel. The makers of the Mallowpuff did in their caramel mallowpuffs, and I thought of the salted part, because: salted caramel.

Mallowpuff Cupcakes

Mallowpuff Cupcakes

Look.. its drooling because it’s so delicious!

Mallowpuff Cupcakes

makes 12

Ovaltine cupcakes

ingredients

120g butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 cup Horlicks
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup milk

mixing

Line a 12 hole muffin tin with cupcake cases, spray cases with non-stick spray.

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together and add to the mixture with milk. Beat well until the mixture is very light and creamy.

Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, and bake at 175 degrees Celsius about 25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool.

The cupcake mixture

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the salted caramel.

Salted Caramel

ingredients

70g caster sugar
20 mL water
85mL cream (warm)
1/4 tsp salt
25g butter, cubed

mixing

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Heat over high heat, shaking the pan often, until the sugar starts to dissolve and the mixture starts to boil. Let the mixture boil, shaking the pan often, until the sugar syrup starts to caramelise. This will happen quite rapidly. Sugar syrup keeps cooking when you remove it from the heat, so take the pan off the heat as soon as a golden colour starts to form. You can always put it back on the heat for a few seconds to continue to caramelise the syrup.
Let the caramel syrup sit for a few seconds and then carefully add the cream in a thin stream, stirring constantly. The mixture will bubble up ferociously and a lot of steam will be generated so take care not the burn yourself! When all of the cream has been incorporated, return pan to the heat and stir constantly until the mixture is smooth. Add the salt to taste. Let the caramel cool a little, then stir in the butter, stirring until completely incorporated.

While the caramel is cooling down, make the marshmallow topping.

Marshmallow Topping

This recipe makes more marshmallow than you’ll need – just spread the leftover marshmallow into a medium tin which has been greased and dusted with icing sugar, cut up, roll in more icing sugar or toasted coconut and enjoy!

ingredients

2 tbsp powdered gelatine
½ cup water
2 cups sugar
¾ cup water, extra
1 tbsp liquid glucose
1 egg white
½ tsp vanilla
Pinch salt

mixing

Sprinkle the gelatine over the ½ cup measure of water and allow to swell.
Combine sugar and ¾ cup measure of extra water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil. Add the liquid glucose and stir til combined. Let the syrup boil until it reaches 126 degrees Celsius on a candy thermometer.
While the mixture is coming to the right temperature, sit the gelatine water mixture over some hot water and stir to dissolve the gelatine (you can alternatively carefully heat it in the microwave for a few seconds at a time, but DO NOT LET IT BOIL). Transfer the dissolved gelatine into a medium bowl and have an electric mixer standing by.
When the syrup has come to the right temperature, pour the syrup immediately in a thin stream into the gelatine mixture, whisking all the time. Let this mixture stand while you prepare the egg white.
Beat the egg white in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. With the mixer running, pour the syrup/gelatine mixture over the egg white in a thin stream. Beat the marshmallow until it is almost cold, then beat in the salt and vanilla.

While your stand mixer (or kitchen helper!) is busy whipping the marshmallow, scoop a walnut sized hole in the top of each cupcake, and fill with the cold salted caramel.

When the marshmallow is ready, load it into a large piping bag fitted with a round nozzle. The easiest way to do this is to put the piping bag into a deep jug. Fold the nozzle over so nothing can escape and fold the top of the bag over the edges of the jug, then fill. Pipe big, snow-cone like swirls of marshmallow on top of the cupcakes. Work quickly as the marshmallow starts to set in a few minutes. Don’t forget to spread the leftover marshmallow in a lightly greased tin dusted with icing sugar for noshing later!

Finished marshmallow, loading into a piping bag, piped marshmallow

Chill the cupcakes until the marshmallow has completely set. Meanwhile, make the chocolate coating.

Chocolate Coating

375 g dark compound chocolate (I like Nestle melts)
1 tbsp coconut oil

Melt the chocolate together with the coconut oil in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Let cool to blood temperature.
Find a measuring jug, large glass or cup which is about 50% bigger than the marshmallow topped cupcakes. You’re going to upend the cake and dip into this vessel filled with melted chocolate, so just use anything with the right kind of dimensions.  Tip all of the chocolate into the vessel. There should be about 5cm of vessel wall above the chocolate, because the level is going to rise when you dip the cupcakes!
Dip each cupcake in the chocolate up to the edge of the paper case and let drip a little before turning back right side up. Let them set at room temperature.

Dipping the Mallowpuff Cupcakes

There you have it: a little time consuming, but so much fun for a rainy day!

Mallowpuff Cupcakes

Enjoy xxx