Completely Caramel Cupcakes

Completely Caramel Cupcakes

Prep Time:50 Min Cook Time:35 Min

Yields 15

For The Cupcakes

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

For The Caramel Sauce

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream

For The Frosting

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 stick (4 ounces) salted butter, softened
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

For The Cupcakes

• 1
  Preheat oven to 325 and line your cupcake pan with papers.
• 2
  Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a small mixing bowl, then set aside.
• 3
  In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium high for 3 to 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
• 4
  Add eggs one at a time, and beat until combined. Add vanilla and beat until everything is smooth.
• 5
  Turn your mixer to it'slowest setting and mix in a third of the dry ingredients. Add half of the buttermilk, another third of the dry ingredients, the rest of the buttermilk, and the last of the dry ingredients. Turn your mixer off as soon as everything comes together.Scrape the bowl with a spatula and give everything one last fold.
• 6
  Scoop your batter into your cupcake pan, filling each cup half to two thirds full. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
• 7
  Cool in the pan for about ten minutes, then remove the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

For The Caramel Sauce

• 1
  Add the sugar to a small sauce pan over medium high heat. Whisk until it's melted and has turned a dark amber color. It will start to smell like caramel. Add in the butter and salt and whisk until the butter is melted. Finally add in the cream. It will bubble up and get stiff at first, but keep whisking and it will smooth out. Remove from heat. I like to pour the sauce into a cereal bowl to help it cool more quickly. Give it a good ten to fifteen minutes to cool off. Boiling sugar is dangerous, so be careful.
• 2
  Use a sharp knife insert at an angle into the top of your cupcake to cut a cone out of the center of the cake. Lift this out, pour a teaspoon or so of the caramel sauce into the cavity, then replace the cone bit back into the hole. The tops of your cupcakes will look a bit mangled. Don't worry about it. We'll cover it up later.

For The Frosting

• 1
  Add sugar and water to a small saucepan over medium high heat but do not stir. Let this cook until it turns amber and starts to smell like caramel. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly stir in cream and vanilla. Set this aside to cool for at least 20 minutes.
• 2
  In a large mixing bowl, beat together the two butters and salt until light. Slowly beat in powdered sugar.
• 3
  Carefully pour your cooled caramel into your frosting and beat until combined. You may need to put your frosting into the fridge for a while before decorating your cupcakes, especially if you have a very warm kitchen.
• 4
  I used a Wilton 1M tip to pipe a swirl of frosting onto each cupcake, then sprinkled them with some sugar sparkles. Frost and decorate to your heart's content.