Step 1

Preheat oven to 190C.

Step 2

Place the dates in a food processor, and pulse until finely chopped. You could cut them up by hand, but it might take a while (and is a pain because they're so sticky).

Step 3

Put the chopped dates in a bowl with the baking soda. Pour over the boiling water, stir and let stand for 5 minutes.

Step 4

In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour, then the date mixture.

Step 5

Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners, then fill to ⅔ full using an ice cream scoop - this helps ensure that there is an even amount in each liner. In my experience, this batter divides evenly between 12 liners. These rise a lot, so don't overfill, or you'll end up with a overflowing mess - I often bake a test cupcake on it's own when I'm using a new recipe.

Step 6

Bake for 15 minutes, or until cooked through - test with a skewer to check if cooked.

Step 7

While the cupcakes are cooking, sauce by melting all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat.

Step 8

When the cupcakes are done, remove from the oven and poke about seven holes in each using a chopstick. Pour a tablespoon of sauce over each cupcakes, making sure to use a brush to coat the top of the whole cupcake.

Step 9

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the icing. In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese until smooth and there are no visible lumps. Switch to the whisk attachment and add the cream, sugar and caramel sauce and whisk to stiff peaks.

Step 10

When cupcakes are cool, pipe the icing onto the cupcakes using a 1M icing tip, then drizzle with the leftover caramel sauce.