Mini Cakes with Dulce de Leche

I chanced upon a cooking magazine by Maru Botana, a famous Argentine cook and TV host, when I was looking for magazines with great food photography.

You see, I’ve been trying to learn how to photograph food well, and I have to admit that I have a long way to go, but it’s always fun to get inspiration from food blogs and magazines, such as Maru’s monthly release.

Maru Botana

In her magazine, I found an easy recipe for a quick afternoon tea sugar fix, and set my sights on making it today. It took less than 30 minutes in total, and was a total blast. The best part of it, is that it looks like you spent hours making it.  Ha, a little trick to impress your girlfriends when they come over for tea.

Maru’s recipe for the cakes..

MINI CAKES WITH DULCE DE LECHE (Makes 12 mini cakes)

Ingredients:

1) 175g of butter
2) 175g of sugar
3) 175g of self-raising flour
4) 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
5) 3 eggs
6) 1 jar of dulce de leche (or jam or other sweet spreads)

Steps:

1) Mix sugar with melted butter until sugar is dissolved
2) Add in vanilla extract and stir
3) Sift in self-raising flour
4) Add in eggs and mix well
5) Grease a muffin tray, and place round baking paper circles at the bottom of each muffin mould
6) Pour batter into muffin moulds until slightly above 3/4 of mould is filled
7) Bake in pre-heated oven at 175 deg for 15 to 20 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out dry when poked into muffins)
8) Let the muffins cool then cut them into halfs horizontally
9) Spread dulce de leche on the bottom half, and sandwich with the top half
10) Sprinkle the mini cakes with sifted icing sugar

Butter and sugar:

Mix until sugar is fully dissolved & add vanilla extract:

Sift in self-raising flour:

Add in eggs:

Stir well until you get a homogenous batter:

Grease a muffin tray and place round baking paper circles at bottom:

Drop batter by tablespoons until slightly more than 3/4 of muffin moulds are covered:

Fresh out of the oven:

Allow mini cakes to cool:

Cut cakes into half horizontally:

Spread dulce de leche on the bottom halves:

Cover with top halves and sift icing sugar over cakes: