Chocolate walnut cupcakes with caramel icing

I made chocolate walnut cupcakes on the weekend. While they were super tasty, they were a bit strange. I don't think I would describe them as cupcakes, more like a brownie. The recipe didn't call for any rising agent - no baking powder or baking soda (I did triple-check the recipe), so the cakes were quite dense, definitely more brownie-texture rather than light and fluffy cupcake.

The walnuts in them were delicious - I roasted them first, so they were crunchy and toasty, delicious. The recipe also called for chocolate chips in the mixture - next time I think I would leave them out - the recipe already has 250g of melted dark chocolate which I think was enough.

I iced the cupcakes with a really delicious caramel icing. It was super easy to make and so, so tasty. It was simply butter, brown sugar, cream and golden syrup melted together. Once cooled, you beat in icing sugar. So easy! I bought a tiny jar of that super-cute edible glitter, which I sprinkled on some of the cupcakes. It's so pretty.

I'm going to have another go at these, putting some baking powder in, and leaving the chocolate chips out. I'm also going to make the original recipe again and try baking it in a tray, like a brownie. Yum. I'll let you know how it goes!