salted caramel chocolate cupcakes
Clearly I am on a caramel kick, and I ain’t sorry bout it.
We’ve rounded the corner on Halloween, and now it’s November, so time to start talking Thanksgiving and holidays in general and all that come with it. For real, I’m trying to get myself hyped. The season was so fraught last year that I refuse, at least on the surface, to allow it to be so this year.
This means I might start throwing down Christmas decorations once I return from my trip. Diving headlong into cozy recipes, devoting my time to creating a festive space and doing holiday activities with family. My mom and I determined that the leadup to any holiday is the most enjoyable part: that anticipation, the sense of joviality.
So, if you’re feeling that vibe too, why not jump on these Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes for your weekend baking project?
Tell you what, I’d take a layer cake over cupcakes almost any day, but these dudes are special. I tested out the chocolate cupcake a couple months ago and loved that base recipe, but my initial image did not quite come to fruition. So, I shelved it, and today we’re dusting off that formula and reimaging it into a couple dozen rich, salted caramel-frosted-and-drizzled treats to serve up at all points in the next few months.
A gorgeous finisher to a non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner, a holiday birthday party, or a gameday viewing soiree. A sure as shit crowdpleaser. Some time required and a few moving parts, but more than worth the result. So I’m gonna stop whistling out words no one cares about and show ya’ll how it’s done!
Caramel Salty Like Me
If you’ve wandered ’round these parts, you’ve seen my salted caramel sauce pop up. Most recently on my Salted Caramel Apple Cider Layer Cake. It’s a delectable condiment for all kinds of desserts, or drizzling onto a cap of whip cream adorning hot chocolate. Good news is you’ll have some left after you use what you need for this recipe, and it keeps quite well in the fridge – about a week, I’d say.
Now, making caramel involves both eyes, so be sure you can give it your undivided attention. Melt down some sugar in a small saucepan, stirring constantly, until it’s totally dissolved and a beautiful golden brown hue. Drop in butter, STEP AWAY QUICK because it will splatter, and stir until melted. Then, pour in some heavy cream and boil until thickened. Your caramel should coat a spoon nicely. This whole process takes about 8-10 minutes.
Pull the saucepan off the burner and stir in some salt and vanilla. Let the caramel cool as you bake the cupcakes – it will continue to thicken.
A Cup of Cake
Heat your oven to 350 and pop two dozen cupcake liners into two 12-slot muffin tins. This recipe will make up to 24 cupcakes.
In a bowl, beat together vegetable oil, brown sugar, and regular sugar until nice and dissolved. Blitz in a few eggs, one at a time, then vanilla and Greek yogurt.
Dry ingredients: flour, regular cocoa powder, black cocoa powder (key for that beautiful dark finish), baking powder, baking soda, salt, and instant espresso. The espresso is optional, but heightens the chocolate flavor significantly. As far as black cocoa goes, King Arthur makes a great bag that I have seen sold at Whole Foods. A few other brands sell it on Amazon as well.
Last, stream in your buttermilk while the mixer runs. The batter should no longer have streaks of flour woven throughout, but should be lumpy. If it’s too smooth, you overmixed that bitch. Woops.
Scoop your batter into the prepared tins, filling 2/3 of the way full. This is where the discrepancy of cupcake numbers comes into play. If you underfill a little, you’ll likely get 24 smaller cakes. If you’re a bit more generous (but not too generous) you’re looking at 21 or 22. It’s certainly better to underfill than overfill to prevent spillage. As far as the method of measuring goes, I like to use an ice cream scoop.
Bake the cupcakes at 350 for 25-30 minutes. The toothpick test will indicate their doneness. Cool 10 minutes in the pans, then set the cupcakes on a wire rack to finish cooling. Give ’em an hour to be safe. Warm frosted cupcakes never ends well. Can you say gLopPy?
Jack Frost(ing) Nipping At Your Nose
Oops, wrong holiday.
When both the cupcakes and caramel are nice and cool, prep the frosting. This is similar to what I used on the aforementioned layer cake, except we’re doing a traditional buttercream rather than a cream cheese version.
To make, whip together some butter, lots of the caramel sauce, and vanilla. Once that trio is combined, gently beat in your powdered sugar – start with 4 cups. Pour in some heavy cream, turn that speed up, and let ‘er rip for a couple minutes to get the frosting nice and fluffy. I usually add about 1/2 cup more powdered sugar (after turning down the speed of my mixer a bit else the sugar will go FUCKING FLYING) and a couple tablespoons more of heavy cream to get more buttercream and a softer texture.
You can go as footloose and fancy free or as elaborate as you wish with the decoration. Either way, be sure each cupcake gets plenty of frosting and do not forget to drizzle some extra caramel on each. If you forget, I’m showing up on your doorstep and squirting a water gun in your face.
Planning for Thanksgiving yet? If you are, add these babies to your list. I guarantee they’re worth it!
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
A Couple Cupcakes:
Pumpkin Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon Bourbon Frosting
Grown-Up Funfetti Cupcakes with Bourbon Strawberry Buttercream
Chai Cupcakes with Bourbon Espresso Frosting
Creepy Crawly Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes
salted caramel chocolate cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt, at room temperature
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup black cocoa powder (or more regular cocoa)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp instant espresso (optional)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
salted caramel buttercream
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce (recipe below)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 -5 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3-1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
salted caramel sauce
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Start with the caramel sauce. Melt the sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, about 5-6 minutes, stirring constantly. When the granules are totally dissolved and turn a rich golden color, add the butter. Be VERY careful – it will probably splatter! Melt the butter while stirring constantly. Carefully pour in the heavy cream, stirring, and simmer 2-3 minutes until thickened. Remove from the heat and add the salt and vanilla. Let cool – the caramel will continue to thicken. Unused caramel will keep for up to a week in the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with parchment liners.
- In a large bowl, beat the oil, brown sugar, and regular sugar for 2-3 minutes until combined. Whip in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla and yogurt. Add the flour, cocoa powder, dark cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, espresso (if using), and salt. With the mixer running, stream in the buttermilk until the batter is just combined. Do not overmix.
- Fill each cupcake tin 2/3 of the way with batter. Depending on what your heart says 2/3 of the way full is, you will get 22-24 cupcakes. Bake for 25-30 minutes until an inserted toothpick emerges with just a few moist crumbs. Cool 10 minutes in the pans, then transfer the cupcakes to wire racks. Cool completely.
- Make the frosting. Whip the butter, caramel, and vanilla until combined, then add the powdered sugar. Pour in 1/3 cup of heavy cream, crank the mixer to high, and beat until very light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. You may need an extra tablespoon of two of cream to achieve the desired texture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, as needed, to properly incorporate all the ingredients.
- Pipe or frost each cupcake with the buttercream. Finish with a drizzle of caramel sauce, as desired.
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