How To Curate A Cupcake For The Orangutan Project

I was recently asked to work on curating a cupcake for the Orangutan Project. Well there is nothing I love more than matching things to food. I was delighted to take part.

I wanted to create a cupcake with a difference just like the difference Orangutan Project makes. Your average cupcake has two elements, a vanilla sponge and a mound of buttercream, this is all well and good if you eat dairy. But last time I checked dairy is not an orangutans friend. Having been on a dairy free diet, cupcakes are a big no for me. So I thought what if the Orangutan project could give the dairy free community a delicious upgrade to just your standard cupcake. And upgrade it is. This is no substitution. Introducing dairy free salted, banana, caramel; fluffy, creamy, sweet and surprisingly buttery in texture. An amazing caramel that melts in your mouth. Of course bananas are synonymous with orangutans so this pairing is a match made in the jungle.

The coconut cream in the cupcake recipe is a must it makes it super moist and spongey. Plus what says a jungle more than a coconut? The end result is a super yummy moist and creamy dairy free cupcake with a salted banana caramel cream. oh and I guess you could say it's a lot healthier than it's cousin... your average cupcake.

I hope you enjoy this creation.

Ingredients

160g of vegan butter such as nutlex
160g of caster Sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3 eggs
160g of self raising flour
1 cup of coconut cream
12 muffin cases

Dairy Free Salted Banana Caramel

2 ripe bananas
2 cups of pitted dates
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3 pinches of salt

Decorations

Orange zest
Dairy free chocolate
Banana Chips

Creation:

Preheat oven to 180°c fan forced. Line 12 holes of a muffin pan with muffin paper cases.
Beat the butter, vanilla and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and creamy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing a third of the flour in after each egg addition.
Once all the eggs and flour are incorporated, fold through the coconut cream into the mixture until well combined.
Spoon into muffin cases until 2/3rds full .
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
Stand in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

For The Banana Salted Caramel Frosting:

Boil the kettle. Put the dates in a heatproof bowl or Pyrex jug and cover completely with hot water and leave to soak for 10 minutes. Once the dates are soaked drain and discard the liquid.
Place the banana, vanilla, dates and salt in a blender and blend until smooth and no lumps of dates exist.
Smother the cooled cupcake with the caramel and decorate with the chips, chocolate and orange zest

I would love to hear what you think of these cupcakes and if you try any substitutions or have any decoration ideas I would love to hear them.

Thanks Everyone!