Fluffy and light vanilla sponge cupcakes with a Biscoff spread centre, topped with Swiss meringue buttercream a Lotus biscuit and drizzled with warm Biscoff spread.
These incredible cupcakes are jampacked with your favourite flavour and you're going to LOVE them!
Lotus Biscoff spread
How I've never published anything containing Lotus Biscoff spread on this blog before now is beyond me. I use Lotus biscuits quite a bit in my cheesecake recipes. This Galaxy Caramel Cheesecake has Lotus as the base and so do these Easter Egg Cheesecakes.
Lotus biscuits have the most amazing caramelised spice flavour which is really unique and works beautifully in lots of recipes. The Biscoff spread is made from ground Lotus biscuits and tastes exactly like a smooth creamy version of the famous biscuits - it's so SO good.
Biscoff spread is the star ingredient for this recipe and I challenge you not to lick it straight off the spoon when you use it to make these cupcakes. It's impossible to resist, believe me!
Are these Speculoos?
The name Biscoff comes from a combination of 'biscuit' and 'coffee' BIS-COFF. This is because Biscoff biscuits are Europe's favourite biscuit to eat alongside a cup of coffee.
They remind me of cafes in Paris, outdoor coffee stands in Rome and, of course, my hairdresser Lucy.
A trip to the salon isn't the same without a Lotus biscuit dunked in my coffee!
They are one and the same as Speculoos cookies which is the generic name for the Belgium-born cookie.
Now we've cleared that up: Let's talk about Biscoff Cupcakes, shall we?!
Simple vanilla cupcakes
I used a standard sponge recipe for the cupcakes with equal weights of butter, sugar, flour and eggs.
The only slight difference to this classic vanilla cupcake recipe is that I swapped regular caster sugar for golden. Golden caster sugar lends itself so well to the overall brown sugar flavour that is so prevalent in Biscoff.
However, if all you have is white caster sugar or even granulated the recipe will still work just fine.
Cookie Butter Cupcakes
I didn't use any of the Biscoff spread in the sponge batter, opting for a spoonful in the middle of the baked cupcakes instead.
I love putting a little surprise inside cupcakes (check out my Piñata cupcakes) the Biscoff cookie butter middle works really well with the moist vanilla sponge.
And really, what's better than biting into a cupcake and finding a surprise centre?
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
For these cupcakes, I've opted for Swiss meringue buttercream instead of regular buttercream. I really enjoy working with Swiss buttercream. It pipes beautifully and looks really shiny and glossy - and I actually find it much easier to make than other frosting.
Regular buttercream is already very sweet and I felt that adding the Biscoff spread to it would have been overly sweet. Using Swiss buttercream is perfect because it's not heavy on sugar.
Just look how shiny and glossy it is!
How to make perfect Swiss Buttercream
Please don't be put off making Swiss buttercream. It's really easy and if I can do it so can you.
The only extra step is heating the sugar and egg whites in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of boiling water (Bain Marie). The most important thing is to not let the bowl touch the boiling water otherwise your eggs will scramble.
Whisk the egg whites and sugar over a low heat for about 4 minutes - or until the sugar has dissolved. Feel it between your fingers and if it's smooth transfer the bowl to a stand mixer and beat on high until the mixing bowl feels cool to the touch.
At this point, add the butter a tablespoon at a time. The butter will curdle and look an awful mess but don't panic - keep mixing for 8-10 minutes until the ingredients bind together.
When everything looks perfectly smooth add the vanilla and warm Biscoff spread and you'll end up with the most beautiful delicious Swiss buttercream you've ever seen!
NOTE: Make sure you accurately measure the egg whites and caster sugar. Using liquid egg whites such as Two Chicks is really useful when making anything meringue-based.
Decoration
To finish off these irresistible cupcakes I added a Lotus biscuit to each of them and drizzled over warm Biscoff spread.
I hope you love them as much as we did!
Top tips
- Use smooth Biscoff spread instead of crunchy
- The Swiss buttercream ingredients provide ample frosting. If you don't want a high frosting to cupcake ratio on your cupcakes you can halve the Swiss buttercream quantities.
- The Lotus biscuit decoration will go soft if it's left too long. To avoid this, pop a biscuit in just before serving.
- Storage: Biscoff cupcakes will keep for 3 days in an airtight container. The cupcake sponge can be frozen for up to 3 months.
More Tempting Cupcake recipes
- Disney Princess Cupcakes
- Salted Caramel Cupcakes
- Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes
- Strawberry Filled Cupcakes
- Bounty Cupcakes
Biscoff Cupcakes
Vanilla cupcakes with a surprise Biscoff spread centre, Biscoff flavoured Swiss meringue buttercream and a whole Lotus biscuit for decoration.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 175 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 175 g golden caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp whole milk
- 175 g self-raising flour
- 12 tsps Lotus Biscoff spread, warmed
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 200 g egg whites
- 200 g caster sugar
- 500 g unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150 g Lotus Biscoff spread, warmed
Decoration
- 12 Lotus biscuits
- 2 tbsp Lotus Biscoff spread, warmed
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 160ºC Fan / Gas 4 / 350ºF and line a 12 hole baking tin with cupcake cases.
- Add all the cupcake ingredients to a large mixing bowl and beat for 1-2 minutes if using an electric whisk or 3-4 minutes if whisking by hand.
- Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases and bake in the centre of the oven for 18 minutes or until the sponge springs back when touched. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
- Remove a small circle from the centre of each cupcake and add a teaspoon of warmed Biscoff spread to each hole.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Fill a saucepan with a couple of inches of water and bring it to a simmer. Put the egg whites and caster sugar into a heatproof bowl and set the bowl on top of the saucepan. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water.
- Use a handheld whisk to beat the eggs and sugar over a low heat for about 4 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. You can test this by rubbing the mixture between your fingers. If it feels smooth - the sugar has dissolved.
- Transfer the mixing bowl to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk until the outside of the bowl feels cool to the touch. You can also use a handheld electric whisk for this stage.
- Add the butter to the mixing bowl a tablespoon at a time, beating well between each incorporation. When all the butter has been added continue to beat on a high speed until the mixture changes from curdled to smooth and glossy.
- Pour in the vanilla extract and warm Lotus Biscoff spread and mix well.
- Transfer the Swiss meringue buttercream to a piping bag fitted with an open star piping nozzle.
Decorate
- Pipe swirls on top of each cupcake, add a Lotus biscuit to each and drizzle with warm Biscoff spread.
Notes
Top tips
- Use smooth Biscoff spread instead of crunchy
- The Swiss buttercream ingredients provide ample frosting if you don't want a high frosting to cupcake ratio on your cupcakes you can halve the Swiss buttercream quantities.
- The Lotus biscuit decoration will go soft if it's left too long. To avoid this, pop a biscuit in just before serving.
- Storage: Biscoff cupcakes will keep for 3 days in an airtight container. The cupcake sponge can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 635Total Fat: 50gSaturated Fat: 30gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 279mgSodium: 42mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 1gSugar: 32gProtein: 6g
mohan kumar
This look so fresh and delecious.Your recipe sounds good with honey.
Amy Treasure
Thank you so much!
Melissa
These cupcakes taste delicious I have to make more!
Amy Treasure
I'm so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes, Melissa!
Gail
Delicious delicious delicious!
Only.. when I converted the recipe to 24 cupcakes, it told me 2 large eggs..
I added 4 eggs.
Amy Treasure
Hi Gail! Yay, I am so glad you loved the cupcakes :) Thank you so much for letting me know about the eggs when you used the slider to adjust the recipe. I will take a look at that. Amy
Danielle
I absolutely love the taste of these cupcakes but everytime I make them they rise SO weird (very undesirable)! I've never seen anything like it... I would love to post a photo but don't seem an option.
Amy Treasure
Hey Danielle, you can send me a pic on Instagram if you like? @amytreasureblog hopefully I can help. Do your other cupcakes have a funny rise or is it just these ones? Send me a pic and I'll have a look! Amy
Danielle Goodwin
Thanks! I've sent you a message with some photos ☺️
Amy Treasure
Thank you for sending the pics over, Danielle, I hope we've managed to get to the bottom of the problem!
Ivie
Hi! I made these for my baby shower but they kept sinking in the middle. Do you know how I could fix this in the future?? They were so yummy! Thank you!