Ginger cupcakes with treacle icing make the ideal treat for Autumn nights and bonfire night. Made with ginger and treacle serve them round the flames with a cup of hot chocolate.

Autumn is definitely here with its dark nights and colder days. I love Autumn, scrunching though piles of leaves and watching the stars in the night sky. As well as being the weather for comforting casseroles Autumn brings some nights to celebrate. Halloween and Bonfire night are two of these. These ginger cupcakes with treacle icing bring together some of the flavours of Autumn in a cupcake which is perfect for serving round the bonfire. What could be nicer than eating home baked cakes in the light of the flames?

Game On, Cooks

As a nation we are obsessed with cooking. Turn on the television and you will find plenty of cookery programs. The Great British Bake Off is a great example with over 10.4 million viewers. Social media is filled with photos of food and high profile chefs keep bring out new cookery books. How often do you cook something from scratch? Research by Lurpak has revealed the average person in the UK spends more than five hours a week consuming food culture and just 4 hours cooking.

To counteract this Lurpak are stirring a cooking revolution with a Game On, Cooks campaign. It challenges Brits to turn their screens off and their ovens on. What can compare to the thrill of creating something in the kitchen and eating it?

Ginger cupcakes with treacle icing

Ginger is a spice that is perfect for Autumn. Not only is it golden in colour, like the leaves on the trees, but it has a number of health benefits. Colder weather brings colds and flu and ginger is a powerful antibacterial that helps boost your immunity. Ginger also acts as an anti-inflammatory which helps decrease joint pain. It is also one of the most effective herbs for treating digestive problems and can be used to treat motion sickness and morning sickness.

Treacle has long been associated with Halloween and bonfire night. Most of us are familiar with treacle toffee, a hard brittle toffee that needs to be smashed into pieces before it is eaten. In Scotland a Halloween game involves hanging treacle covered scones from trees. Participants have to take a bite out of the scone with their hands tied.

Ginger cupcakes are reminiscent of parkin, a gingerbread cake made with ginger and black treacle which originated in northern England. The treacle icing sets the cupcakes off perfectly making the perfect bite sized snack for Bonfire night.

Ginger cupcakes with treacle icing recipe

Ginger cupcakes with treacle icing

Ingredients

120 g plain flour
70 g dark demarara sugar
70 g golden caster sugar
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp black treacle
40 g butter
120 ml milk
1 egg
For the icing
250 g icing sugar
80 g butter
2 tsp treacle
splash of milk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 170C Gas Mark 3
Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy
Mix in the rest of the ingredients until well combined and smooth
Share the mixture between 12 cupcake cases
Bake for 20 minutes until firm
Leave to cool
To make the icing mix the butter and sugar together until fluffy, adding a little milk if needed
Add the treacle and stir until combined
Top each of the cakes with the icing.