Phenomenal Phoods

Sticky Ginger Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 1 cup dates (pitted and roughly chopped)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (you can also just scrape out the inside of a vanilla bean or use vanilla extract)
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons ginger
• 3/4 cup flour

For the sauce:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the whipped cream:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions:

For the cupcakes:

1. Place the dates in a heat-safe bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let them sit for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
3. Combine the butter, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, vanilla, eggs, ginger and flour in a food processor and pulse just until combined.
4. Add the dates and water and pulse until nearly smooth. You will still see little bits of the dates, but they should be teeny tiny.
5. Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way and tap the tray to even them out.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I started checking them at 15 minutes, but it took about 20 in my oven.

For the sauce:

1. While the cupcakes are baking, make the sauce.
2. Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
3. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
4. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20-30 minutes until the sauce is thickened.

For the whipped cream:

1. Combine the cream and maple syrup in a large bowl and use a hand or stand mixer with the whisk attachment to beat until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over whip and curdle the cream.
2. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

To assemble the cupcakes:

1. While the cupcakes are still warm, poke holes all over the tops of them with a toothpick.
2. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the warm ginger toffee sauce overtop of each cupcake, letting it soak into the cupcakes. Note that this is a little easier to do if you remove the papers from the cupcakes and place them on wax or parchment paper first. I recommend using a sturdy cupcake liner that doesn't stick. I like the Staybrite cupcake liners best.
3. Let the cupcakes cool completely before piping or spooning on a generous amount of the whipped cream.