I absolutely love how fireworks light up the sky and enchant you, and I love bonfire night and all of the treats that come along with it. Parkin is a sticky moist cake flavoured with ginger and black treacle that originated in the North of England. I decided to jazz up my parkin this year and turn it into these Parkin Cupcakes with sweet toffee buttercream, and to represent the fireworks I've garnished them with popping candy chocolate. The best thing is they are so simple to make and they will delight people of all ages!
For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to make Parkin Cupcakes
Make the chocolate shards first by melting the dark chocolate and smoothing it out onto some baking paper. Then sprinkle popping candy all over it. Leave it to set, then cut it into triangles.
In a mixing bowl stir together plain flour, oats, ground ginger, mixed spice, nutmeg, baking powder and salt. In a pan on a low heat, melt the butter, golden syrup, black treacle and light brown sugar together.
Stir the melted butter and treacle mixture into the flour mixture. Then add the eggs and milk, and whisk them in.
Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases and bake for 25 minutes.
How long do the cupcakes last and can they be frozen?
The cupcakes will last for 3 days in an airtight container in a cool place. You can freeze both the cupcakes and the buttercream. To freeze them separately, wrap the cupcakes well in cling film or put them in an airtight container. The buttercream can be frozen in a sealed tub. To freeze them decorated, freeze the cupcakes on a plate until frozen solid, then carefully wrap in cling film. Remove the clingfilm when you take the cupcakes out of the freezer to defrost, as if they defrost with it still on it could damage the buttercream. Do not freeze the chocolate shards.
Tips for making the Parkin Cupcakes:
- If you don't want to decorate with the chocolate shards, you could top the cupcakes with fudge pieces, caramel sauce or golden sprinkles.
- I got the popping candy from Amazon, check the recommend ingredients section below for a link.
- I used caramel extract from Tesco for the buttercream, if you can't get hold of it, you can mix in 100-150g caramel sauce instead.
Recommended equipment & ingredients*
- Cupcake tin
- Mixing bowls
- Cooling rack
- Kitchen scales
- Electric hand mixer
- Piping bags
- Caramel extract
- Popping candy
- Mixed spice
- Brown cupcake cases
- Wilton 1M Piping nozzle
- Dark chocolate
*I earn a small amount of money if you buy the products after clicking on the links. You will not be charged anything extra for this. Thank you for supporting The Baking Explorer!
More Bonfire Night recipes...
Parkin Cupcakes with Toffee Buttercream
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 100 g Butter
- 100 g Soft brown sugar
- 100 g Black treacle also known as molasses
- 100 g Golden syrup
- 150 g Oats
- 150 g Plain flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 3 tsp Ground ginger
- 1 tsp Mixed spice
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg
- A pinch of Salt
- 2 Eggs large
- 2 tbsp Milk
For the decoration
- 200 g Dark chocolate
- 50 g Popping candy
For the buttercream
- 200 g Butter
- 400 g Icing sugar
- 2 tsp Caramel extract
- 1 tbsp Milk add if needed, if the buttercream is too thick
Instructions
- Melt the dark chocolate and pour it onto a lined baking tray to create a 2-3mm thick layer of chocolate. Sprinkle popping candy all over it and leave to set at room temperature
- Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, line a large cupcake or muffin tray with cupcake cases
- In a pan on a low heat melt together the butter, soft brown sugar, black treacle and golden syrup. Don't let the mixture boil. Black treacle and golden syrup are very sticky and gloopy so put the pan on your scales and measure them directly into it
- In a large bowl mix together the oats, plain flour, baking powder, ground ginger, mixed spice, nutmeg and salt
- Pour the warm treacle mixture into the oat mixture and combine the ingredients
- In a small bowl beat the eggs and milk. Add it to the cupcake batter, mixing in well
- Transfer the batter into a jug and divide it between the cupcake cases
- Bake the cupcakes on for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool fully
- Make the buttercream by mixing the butter, icing sugar and caramel extract together until smooth. If it is too thick, add the milk and mix in. Pipe it onto the cupcakes using a piping bag and nozzle
- Using a sharp knife, slice the chocolate into shards and stick it into the buttercream
- Store in an airtight container in a cool place, eat leftovers within 3 days
Charlotte Oates
I've not tried parkin before but having seen a few recipes about over the last few days it's definitely now on my list - it's full of flavours I love.
I love your twist on it with the caramel buttercream and the popping candy chocolate shards.
Quick non-food question - I've bought some sparklers to try a few pictures similar to what you've done but I don't know if I need a fast shutter speed or a slow one - I thought about some trial and error but I can see me running out of sparklers before I've figured it out. What did you use?
Kat BakingExplorer
Thanks Charlotte! Parkin is great on it's own but I felt like jazzing it up this year!
Unfortunately you are asking the wrong person about technical camera things! I just let the sparkler go, took some shots on auto and got lucky with the shot above. Sorry that's not very good advice!!
Kate Glutenfreealchemist
Doesn't Parkin shout 'fireworks'? These little cupcakes look so yummy and fun. The addition of caramel buttercream sounds divine..... I have never used caramel extract (I usually throw in a couple of spoonfuls of caramel sauce)..... Does it give the same amount of flavour?
I also adore those little chocolatey popping shards..... very clever!
Kat BakingExplorer
Thanks Kate! The caramel extract by Dr Oetker is really tasty and a very close match to real caramel, I've used it several time and always got good results.
Baking Addict
These look absolutely amazing. I love the chocolate shards with popping candy and the buttercream sounds divine with parkin. Hope you had a good time!
Kat BakingExplorer
Thanks Ros! Yes thank you it was such a fun night and these cupcakes didn't last long.
Emma | Fork and Good
Love the sparkler picture! Flavours are right up my street too 🙂
Kat BakingExplorer
Thanks Emma! I got lucky with that shot as I'm not much of a camera whiz.
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins
I love parkin and make some every year for my Yorkshire hubby! These look so pretty and so good! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Kat BakingExplorer
Thanks Kirsty!
Angela Entwistle
Love these Kat! I've not had popping candy for so many years, the idea of it takes me straight back to my childhood!
Angela x
Polly
These are so easy to make and so delicious. I didn't have popping candy so I used sprinkles on my chocolate shards to give a similar effect. They were a Bonfire Night hit!!