Rich chocolate salted caramel cupcakes with a caramel-filled centre, topped with caramel frosting, sauce and a piece of fudge. These cupcakes are absolutely incredible and a must-have for the salted caramel lovers!
You're either in the couldn't care less about salted caramel camp or the "GIMME ALL THE SALTED CARAMEL" camp. I am a proud and official paid-up member of the latter.
I don't know when or where the salted caramel craze began but it's been around for a while and it looks like it's here to stay.
And with good reason.
The salted caramel flavour is perfection in its own right. But when you balance out the sweet and salty caramel then add it inside a delectable rich chocolate cupcake topped with salted caramel icing.
That's a match made in cupcake heaven.
These salted caramel cupcakes are in my top 3 cupcakes to bake. They are an excellent choice to take along to the school bake sale or family gathering and whenever I present them, I am always asked for the recipe amidst the "oohs" and "ahhs" of recipients gobbling them down.
Chocolate and Salted Caramel Perfection
There are a lot of salted caramel recipes on the internet for you to choose from but I'm glad you've landed here. I want you to be able to fully appreciate just how beautifully salted caramel works with chocolate cupcakes.
You could, of course, go for a plainer vanilla cupcake made with brown sugar to mimic caramel but I find them a little bit...boring.
Give me a chocolate salted caramel cupcake any day of the week. I assure you, this winning combination makes for a more unique and tasty cupcake.
Salted Caramel Frosting
I topped the cupcakes with a delicious caramel buttercream and cream cheese frosting. It's a bit of a hybrid since I'd usually opt for buttercream OR cream cheese icing but it totally works. The cream cheese adds some sharpness which balances the sweet salted caramel buttercream really well.
The end result is a cupcake that is perfectly balanced in flavour. It's got rich chocolate, sweet and salty caramel and a slightly tangy not overly sweet or sickly caramel frosting.
You Are Going To Love These Cupcakes
✔︎ Rich and tender chocolatey cupcake
✔︎ Oozy salted caramel centre
✔︎ Irresistible salted caramel icing
✔︎ Easy to find everyday ingredients
✔︎ Simple to bake at home
What You Need To Make Salted Caramel Cupcakes
- Plain Flour: For a denser more fudge-like crumb opt for plain flour over self-raising.
- Cocoa Powder: Choose the highest-quality cocoa powder you can afford, it really does make a difference. I recommend Dr Oetker Fine Dark Cocoa powder. The acidity of the powder has been reduced so it won’t interfere with the rise on your bakes.
- Baking Powder and Bicarbonate of Soda: For a slight tang and to lift the cake batter.
- Eggs: Use large free-range Organic eggs where possible.
- Granulated Sugar: It's fine to use caster sugar if you don't have granulated.
- Light Brown Sugar: For its molasses taste and because it's moister than regular sugar. Can be substituted with granulated or caster.
- Vegetable Oil: Makes the cupcakes lighter and moister.
- Vanilla Extract: To balance flavour. Use extract not essense.
- Buttermilk: For its tang and because it encourages a lovely tender crumb. Substitute with plain yoghurt or full-fat milk volume for volume. If you want to use buttermilk but don't have any - here's a recipe to make your own.
- Carnation Caramel: I like the flavour of Carnation Caramel and it's cheap to buy. You can use homemade caramel sauce or Dulce De Leche if you prefer.
- Cream Cheese: I use Philadelphia because I know it works. You can try a different brand but make sure it's full fat.
- Salted Butter: The salt in the butter turns the caramel into salted caramel. You can go with unsalted and add a good pinch of salt.
- Icing Sugar (Confectioner's Sugar - US): Because it's a fine sugar and dissolves well without leaving any grain behind.
How To Make Salted Caramel Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 160ºC Fan / 350 F / Gas 4
- Line a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake cases
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
- In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, sugars, oil and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour half the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk. Slowly pour in half of the buttermilk and whisk again. Repeat for remaining ingredients taking care not to overmix.
- Fill the cupcake cases halfway (do not overfill) and bake in the centre of the oven for 18-21 minutes. The cupcakes are baked when they spring back when touched in the middle with one finger.
Caramel-Filled Cupcakes
- Allow the cupcakes to completely cool then scoop out the centre of each cupcake. You can do this using a small pairing knife, spoon or turn a piping nozzle upside down and use that.
- Add sea salt to the caramel a pinch at a time until the caramel reaches the desired flavour.
- Transfer a teaspoon of salted caramel into each hole and smooth over the top so it's level with the rest of the cupcake.
How To Make Salted Caramel Frosting
- Cream together the butter and cream cheese then add the caramel and beat until very smooth.
- Add the icing sugar a tablespoon at a time and beat until it's fully incorporated.
- If the icing is too runny add more icing sugar a tablespoon at a time. If it's too thick add milk or cream a few drops at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
- Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle (I used Wilton 1M) and pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes.
Toppings For Salted Caramel Cupcakes
We have the buttercream and cream cheese icing which tastes divine but what about a topping on top of the topping?! I went with a piece of homemade salted caramel fudge but any of these would work.
- Caramel Sauce
- Pretzels
- Popcorn
- Chocolate Ganache
- Or even...Bacon!
The possibilities and flavour combinations are endless.
Your Questions Answered
You could! I'm not opposed to box mix cakes at all. Any chocolate cupcake or vanilla cupcake box mix would work with this but I would urge you to have a go at making your own cupcakes from scratch. It is so rewarding and in this instance, I know this recipe is better than a box mix.
Absolutely! Any homemade caramel sauce or store-bought caramel sauce will work. I use Carnation because it's a thicker consistency and it's cheap to buy.
The short answer is that butterscotch is made with butter and brown sugar whereas caramel is typically made with white sugar.
Condensed milk needs to be heated for several hours and it will eventually turn to caramel. Here's a recipe if you'd like to try making it.
It's not good for you or beneficial to your diet in any way. However, here at Tempting Recipes, we discourage calorie counting and believe everything in moderation (including moderation).
You can control the amount of salt by adding a little at a time until the caramel reaches your desired taste. That's why it's brilliant to bake your own salted caramel goods so you can add salt to plain caramel.
You may have overfilled them. Most cupcake recipes require you to fill ¾ full however these cupcakes get a good rise and the cases should only be ½ full of the mixture before they're baked.
You might have overbeaten them. Too much air in a cupcake will cause a cupcake to overrise and you will lose the fudgy texture.
It's also a good idea to check your oven temperature as if it was too hot the cupcakes can rise rapidly and spill over.
Dry cupcakes are often a result of too much flour or too little liquid so make sure you're measuring the ingredients correctly.
Your oven was probably too hot. Double-check the temperature is correct and consider investing in an oven thermometer.
They were cooked too long, you got the oven temperature wrong or you used a cheaper cupcake tin. Cheap tins are thinner and more likely to make cupcakes burn.
Leave them in the tin for 10 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool for at least 45 minutes.
More Tempting Cupcake Recipes
Salted Caramel Cupcakes
Incredible chocolate salted caramel cupcakes with a caramel-filled centre. The cupcakes are topped with salted caramel buttercream and cream cheese frosting and finished with a drizzle of caramel sauce and piece of fudge.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 95 g plain flour
- 45 g cocoa powder
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 80 ml vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 120 ml buttermilk
Caramel-filled centre
- 100 g Carnation Caramel, 12 teaspoons/quarter of a tin
- 1 pinch sea salt
Salted Caramel Frosting
- 197 g Carnation Caramel , about half the tin
- 180 g full fat cream cheese
- 100 g salted butter
- 450 g icing sugar
Decoration
- 12 pieces fudge
- 100 g Carnation Caramel (to drizzle), about ¼ of a tin
- 1 pinch sea salt
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 160ºC Fan / 350 F / Gas 4.
- Line a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake cases.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
- In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, sugars, oil and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour half the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk. Slowly pour in half of the buttermilk and whisk again. Repeat for remaining ingredients taking care not to overmix.
- Fill the cupcake cases halfway (do not overfill) and bake in the centre of the oven for 18-21 minutes. The cupcakes are baked when they spring back when touched in the middle with one finger.
Core and fill the cupcakes
- Allow the cupcakes to completely cool then scoop out the centre of each cupcake. You can do this using a small pairing knife, spoon or turn a piping nozzle upside down and use that.
- Add sea salt to the caramel a pinch at a time until the caramel reaches the desired flavour.
- Add a teaspoon of salted caramel into each hole and smooth over the top so it's level with the rest of the cupcake.
Salted Caramel Frosting
- Cream together the butter and cream cheese then add the caramel and beat until very smooth.
- Add the icing sugar a tablespoon at a time and beat until it's fully incorporated.
- If the icing is too runny add more icing sugar a tablespoon at a time. If it's too thick add milk or cream a few drops at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
- Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle (I used Wilton 1M) and pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes.
- Decorate with a piece of fudge and a sprinkling of sea salt. Use the remaining caramel to drizzle over the top. You can warm the caramel in the microwave to loosen it.
Notes
Only fill the cupcake cases ½ full or the cupcakes will spill over the top
Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before you core, fill and frost them
Store in a container in the fridge for up to 5 days
Unfrosted cupcakes will freeze well for up to one month
Store any leftover frosting in a container in the fridge for up to 5 days
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 491Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 10gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 131mgCarbohydrates: 63gFiber: 1gSugar: 54gProtein: 2g
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