Recipe Recap: Heath Bar Cupcakes

You read my triathlon post so I figured you deserved a cupcake post.

I made these cupcakes for Sara's belated birthday celebration. She likes toffee and chocolate and caramel (a girl after my own heart) so I knew these cupcakes would go over well.
















That's not just chocolate syrup (no offense, Hershey's - love ya, mean it!) drizzled over the top. That's an honest-to-goodness made-from-scratch ganache.
















And no self-respecting Heath Bar Cupcake would be caught dead without some toffee bits sprinkled on top.
















I used my own frosting recipe instead of the one that came with the cupcakes. I kept the tablespoon of vanilla but used three sticks of butter, a half-cup of shortening, around 6 cups of powdered sugar, plus about half a cup of caramel syrup. The frosting doesn't necessarily taste like caramel, but the syrup takes the flavor of the frosting to another level.





















Some reviews:

• Kim said she thought they'd be good with a little more salt. I see where she's coming from since salty and sweet go together so well. Plus I think the toffee is a little salty so maybe that gave her the craving for more salt.
• On that note, Bronte thought that they WERE salty. So I guess whether they were or weren't depends on your sensitivity to salt.
• Bruce said they were good but he wished for a denser cupcake. Yes, the search for the perfect cupcake consistency continues...
• Flavor-wise, I really liked the doctored-up boxed mix. If I'm not worried about the density of my cupcake, I think I'll use this recipe from now on.
  
• My coworker and someone else in the building said this was the best cupcake yet.

Mmm... I told the McHusband I wasn't going to bake anything this week, but these cupcakes are making me question my resolve...

{Recipe here}