Canned Caramel

I made these quick little cakes so my stepson could try Top 'n' Fill for the first time, he loved them! Caramel Bite Cupcakes; vanilla cupcake base, Top 'n' Fill caramel, dark chocolate ganache.  

Today I'm using a Nestle canned version of Dulce de Leche or depending where you are from: Cajeta, Arequipe, Fanguito, Manjar or if your an Australian Top 'n' fill.

To tell you the truth I don't get the fascination with the caramel, I'm not a caramel fan but my Mum adored it! Dulce de Leche is the basis of many Latin American desserts, flavours a wide range of products from ice-cream to Girl Scout Cookies all of which my husband thinks sound great... he is another fan of the milky caramel.

The following is the cake batter I use when I  need to whip up something quickly, it's little plain, a little firm, a perfect cake batter for "wet" toppings that have the starring role like Tiramisu cupcakes or the 'Caramel Bite Cupcakes" I'm making today. 

Caramel Bite Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 180C/350F 

Line two 12 cup trays with paper liners (the small patty/fairy cake size)

Cake batter

125g butter (4.4oz)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup (150g) castor sugar (superfine)
3 eggs
1½ cups (225g) self-raising flour
¼ cup milk (60ml)

Beat butter, extract, sugar, eggs, sifted flour & milk on low speed with an electric mixer until ingredients are just combined. Increase speed to medium & beat for 3 minutes until smooth and pale in colour.

Drop spoonfuls of mixture into the paper liners. Bake about 20 minutes. Allow to cool in tins for 5 minutes removing to a wire rack to cool.

Rip open your can of Top 'n' Fill and spread a spoonful on each cake, top with chocolate ganache.

Refrigerate cakes until ready to serve, bring to room temperature before eating.

*Dulce de Leche is slowly heated sweetened milk; it is not a true caramel, the "caramel like taste" is produced by the maillard reaction between reducing sugar & an amino acid. However, colloquially dulce de leche is known & loved as "caramel".