Mary Berry’s toffee cupcakes are sticky, caramel-flavoured sponges made with light muscovado sugar and black treacle, topped with a buttercream icing swirled with homemade toffee sauce, baked at 180°C (160°C fan) for about 20 minutes. The recipe makes 12 cupcakes and they keep for 1-2 days in an airtight container.
Berry calls these “sticky toffee pudding in the form of a cupcake” in Everyday (2017), and the toffee sauce folded through the buttercream is what makes them special. She makes the sauce separately from butter, muscovado sugar and double cream, bubbles it for 3 minutes to thicken, then folds three-quarters of it into the icing and drizzles the rest over the top.
The ingredient that drives the whole flavour is black treacle. Berry uses just 1 tablespoon alongside the muscovado, which is enough to give the sponge that deep, almost burnt-toffee taste without making it bitter. She notes “I used light muscovado here but you could use dark muscovado, if you liked, for an even stronger toffee flavour.”
Mary Berry Toffee Cupcakes
Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy12
servings20
minutes20
minutes420
kcal40
minutesFrom Berry’s Everyday (2017), a sticky toffee pudding turned into cupcake form with a muscovado and treacle sponge, homemade toffee sauce and buttercream icing. Prepare ahead up to 2 days.
Ingredients
- For the toffee sauce:
50g (2 oz) butter
75g (3 oz) light muscovado sugar
150ml (5 fl oz) double cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
- For the sponges:
100g (4 oz) baking spread
150g (5 oz) self-raising flour
150g (5 oz) light muscovado sugar
3 tbsp milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp black treacle
½ tsp vanilla extract
- For the icing:
150g (5 oz) butter, softened
225g (8 oz) icing sugar, sifted
Directions
- Make the toffee sauce: Measure the butter, muscovado sugar, cream and vanilla into a saucepan and stir over a medium heat. Once the butter has melted and combined with the sugar and cream, bring to the boil and allow to bubble for about 3 minutes to thicken. Set aside to cool completely.
- Prepare: Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4 (350°F). Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
- Make the sponges: Measure all the sponge ingredients into a large bowl and whisk with an electric hand whisk until blended and smooth. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases, dividing evenly.
- Bake: Bake for about 20 minutes or until well risen, golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the icing: Measure the butter and icing sugar into a bowl and whisk with an electric hand whisk until light and fluffy. Add three-quarters of the cooled toffee sauce and whisk to combine, keeping the speed low or the sugar will fly everywhere.
- Top the cupcakes: Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe swirls on top of each cupcake. Drizzle the remaining toffee sauce over the top.
FAQs
Can I make these cupcakes ahead of time?
Berry’s prepare ahead note says the cupcakes can be made 1-2 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in a cool place. The icing can be made up to 8 hours ahead with the surface covered to stop it drying out. The sponges freeze well without the icing.
The toffee sauce thickens as it cools and sets further in the fridge, so make it first and let it cool while you bake the sponges. If it firms up too much before you fold it into the buttercream, warm it gently for 30 seconds until it loosens.
Can I use dark muscovado instead of light?
Berry says yes. She writes “you could use dark muscovado, if you liked, for an even stronger toffee flavour.” Dark muscovado has more molasses, which pushes the flavour from caramel towards a deeper, almost smoky toffee. Combined with the black treacle, it makes a very rich sponge.
I’ve tested both. Light muscovado gives a sweeter, butterscotch taste. Dark muscovado gives a more intense, grown-up toffee. If you’re serving these to children, stick with light. For adults who like sticky toffee pudding on the darker side, go with dark.
What is black treacle and can I leave it out?
Black treacle is a thick, dark syrup similar to molasses but slightly less bitter. Berry uses just 1 tablespoon in the sponge, which adds colour, moisture and that distinctive burnt-sugar depth that separates toffee cupcakes from ordinary vanilla ones.
Without it the sponges still taste of muscovado, but they lack the dark, complex note that makes Berry compare them to sticky toffee pudding. Golden syrup is not a substitute because it’s much sweeter and lighter. If you can’t find black treacle, use the same amount of dark molasses instead.
How do Berry’s three cupcake recipes compare?
Berry has three cupcakes across her books. These Toffee Cupcakes from Everyday (2017) are the most indulgent, with toffee sauce in both the sponge and the icing. Her Lemon Meringue and Strawberry Cupcakes in the same book are the most complex, with a scooped-out lemon curd filling and blowtorched meringue topping.
Her Red Velvet Cupcakes in Foolproof Cooking (2016) are the simplest to make because the all-in-one sponge and cream cheese frosting both come together in minutes. Each cupcake has a different personality: toffee for comfort, lemon meringue for showing off, red velvet for speed.
Why does Berry make the toffee sauce first?
The sauce needs to cool completely before it goes into the buttercream. If it’s still warm, the butter in the icing melts and the whole thing turns into a runny mess that won’t hold a piped shape. Berry doesn’t explain why she puts this step first, but it’s clearly so the sauce has maximum cooling time while you mix, bake and cool the sponges.
Making it first also means you can taste and adjust the sauce. If you want it more toffee-heavy, let it bubble for an extra minute to thicken further. If it’s too thick after cooling, add a splash of cream and stir until smooth. I always make a little extra and keep it in a jar for pouring over ice cream later.
