Salted Caramel Cupcakes!

A moist brown sugar cupcake is filled with gooey caramel, topped with a fluffy salted caramel butter cream and drizzled with more caramel. This is one delicious cupcake.

After the cupcakes are baked and cooled, the centers are cut out and filled with caramel.

The tops get put back on...

And the cupcakes get a generous swirl of salted caramel buttercream and a nice drizzle of caramel sauce.

I really enjoyed these cupcakes and I think you will too!
The recipe looks daunting, but see my tips below for an easier method.


Salted Caramel Cupcakes Source: Sprinkle Bakes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and sea salt together and set aside. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium-high until the batter begins to appear fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, until each is well incorporated into the mixture. Then add the vanilla.

In three batches, add the flour and alternate adding the buttermilk, making sure that each previous batch is incorporated before adding the next. Fill each muffin tin about half way with batter and bake for 23-25 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool completely on a wire rack before the next step.


Salted Caramel Filling *

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons salted butter, cubed
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:
In a large pot, melt sugar over medium/high heat. Begin to gently whisk the sugar until it begins to melt. Add the butter and mix until it begins to melt. Incorporate the heavy cream. The mixture will immediately begin to foam.

Remove from heat and allow the sauce cool just slightly. Cut a small circle out of the top of each cupcake. Fill with a teaspoon of caramel sauce and re-top the cupcake piece that you cut out.


Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting **

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick salted butter
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
In a saucepan, combine sugar and water and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring at all, until it starts turning a deep brown/amber.

Remove from heat and very slowly add the cream and vanilla. Lightly mix until the mixture is smooth in texture. Allow the caramel to cool, for about 20-25 minutes, but make sure while it's cooling you keep an eye on it to make sure you're still able to pour it. If it gets too thick, you can add a touch of water, reheat on the stovetop, and continue whisking until the caramel is pourable again.

In your mixer, beat the butters and salt until fluffy. Slow the mixer speed down a bit and add the powdered sugar, until combined. Using a spatula, scrape the sides of the mixer and add in the caramel. Mix until all of the caramel is incorporated. Top the cupcakes with the frosting.

* I used a jar of Trader Joe's fleur de sel caramel in place of making it from scratch. I can eat that stuff with a spoon!

** For the frosting, I whipped together 1 stick butter with 1 1/2 cups powder sugar until fluffy. Then I beat in spoonfuls of the fleur de sel caramel until I got the flavor I wanted. It turned out delicious and saved me the hassle of making my own caramel.