Almond Roca Cupcakes

For the cupcake for the month of September I decided to make one based on the candy Almond Roca. You might be asking why did I choose this flavor this month, well the reason is simple. This post is planned to go up on my blog on September 8^th which would have been my mom's birthday and Almond Roca was her favorite candy. So it only seemed fitting to make her favorite candy into a cupcake to celebrate her birthday. 

 

Since this is part of my monthly series of small batch cupcakes using a partial box of cake mix I had to come up with a way of making a yellow cake mix into a caramel cake. I knew immediately how I would do this if I was making the cake base from scratch but working with the mix took a bit of thinking. In the end I added two things to the mix to achieve the result I was looking for. This recipe took a bit more playing around and testing than a lot of the recipes in this series so I hope you all love it as much as I do and as much as I am sure mom would have also.

If you haven't read my blog post on dividing the cake mix click here to go there first. You will need to divide a box of yellow cake mix to make this recipe.

I did substitute milk for part of the water this month like have been doing recently in a few of the recipes. I like how much more like a scratch made cake it turns out with this simple switch. This time however I cut the milk back from ⅓ cup down to ¼ cup and I added in a Tablespoon of Caramel sauce (the kind you would put on ice cream) I also stirred some Heath bits into the batter at the end. Between the two I think the cupcake has a nice toffee like flavor. Please note that the cooked cup cake will be a bit darker that normal and this is normal. Also because of the addition of the chips I got one extra cupcake than I normally do. I normally get 6 and this recipe gives me 7.

To top the cupcakes I made a ganache with some chocolate chips and half & half cream. I let this cool and then dipped the tops of the cooled cupcakes into the chocolate and then immediately into some chopped slightly toasted almonds.

Allow the chocolate some time to set up in the fridge before serving.

While not an exact replica of the iconic candy I think it definitely is easy to see that it is inspired by the candy.

Click this link for a downloadable/printable copy of today's recipe.

Almond Roca Cupcakes

⅓ of a box of yellow cake mix

¼ cup milk

1 Tablespoon caramel sauce

1 egg

3 ½ Tablespoons vegetable oil

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup Heath bits

For the topping:

½ cup chocolate chips

2 Tablespoons half & half

½ slivered almonds, coarsely chopped and lightly toasted

Start by preheating your oven to the temperature your box of cake mix calls for, mine was 350°F. Line your cupcake pan with paper liners or grease really well.

Combine the milk, caramel sauce, egg, oil and vanilla in a mixing bowl and combine well.

Add the cake mix and beat for up to 90 seconds.

Carefully stir in the Heath bits by hand.

Portion into cupcake pan and bake according to instructions on your cake mix. Mine was baked at 350°F for about 20 minutes.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes then move to a cooling rack and cool completely.

While the cupcakes cool make your topping. Place the chocolate chips in small bowl. Heat the half & half and pour over the chocolate chips until melted and smooth.

 

 If they don't melt try microwaving on high for 10 second intervals until you can stir the mixture smooth. Allow to cool.

When everything has cooled to room temperature. Place the chopped, toasted almonds in a small bowl.

Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the chocolate mixture to coat then immediately into the chopped almonds.

Repeat with all the cupcakes.

 

 

Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.