Sticky Toffee Pudding Cupcakes

"Unlike the creamy American dessert of the same name, puddings from Great Britain are dense and cakey. This small-scale version includes pureed dates and a splash of brandy; after baking, the puddings are coated with a delectable toffee glaze." --Martha

Yummmmm! Brandy! You can't go wrong if a recipe calls for brandy at some point. I like to say "I like to cook with brandy; sometimes I even put it in my recipes!" ha-ha. For those of you who follow my blog but do not know me well, you should know I don't really drink liquor...alot. But there are times when not only it is appropriate to have a drink, but it is needed.

For instance, if I were trapped say, at the top of a ski slope when everyone else had gone downhill, when the ski teams of rescue workers had all left and the biggest blizzard in 20 years was about to converge on the precipice; then I would say that it would be extremely appropriate to have a brandy when I finally made it down the mountain...on my rear...with one ski...zipper stuck on my parka in the half-way skewed cockeyed position...crying...out of breath...and chilled to the bejeebers. In fact, I'd say it would have been very appropriate for me to have had say, the entire bottle; if I would have been in that position, which, of course, may or maynot have happened in December of 1986. But I don't drink...usually.

A neat little treat about liqour in recipes is that you can cook with it and when done properly, one can cook the alcohol out of the liquor and remain with the flavor in the foods. In this recipe, the brandy flavor is retained and when combined with the caramel-toffee, it is a match made in heaven! I did change up the recipe ever-so-slightly when I replaced the required dates...eh hem...Madjool plump, moist, halved and pitted dates, with raisins. Plain ol' Sunmaid raisins. The cupcakes still were yummy and gooey and delicious. Just ask my boss; he wouldn't stop eating them! (Luckily all of the patients were out of the office for the day, just in case not all of the alcohol baked out!)

The toffee is your standard mix of brown sugar, butter, cream and more brandy! Very easy to make and super to eat..especially out of the pan! These are great llittle cakes with a candy topping, but for another quote (Thank you Ogden Nash), "Candy, is dandy; but liqour is quicker!

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