• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Pass The Sushi logo
  • Travel
  • About
  • Nav Social Menu

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Dinner
    • Dessert
    • Cocktail Recipes
    • All Recipes
  • Travel
  • About
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Dinner
    • Dessert
    • Cocktail Recipes
    • All Recipes
  • Travel
  • About
×

Home » Dessert » Cupcakes

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

By: Kita · Published Jul 6, 2012 · Updated: Sep 3, 2012 · This post may contain affiliate links

It's as easy as ______! Go on, fill in the blank.

A few weeks ago while we were at a bike race, I was cheering people on. "It's as easy as CAKE!," came flying from my mouth. I didn't think anything of it, but Handsome looked at my dumbfounded. "Cake? What the hell is that?"

Now, to be fair, I am very bad at expressions. I never get them quite right, almost like I miss the nuance of it. So, I thought for a while that perhaps cake was not the right way to say what I was trying to and that it was peculiar.... Until my co-worker said exact the same thing the other day, "Easy as cake!" Thank you!

Now on to our own pint sized cakes.

 

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

from SprinkleBakes

Ingredients:

For the brown sugar cupcakes:

  • 1 ½ cups flour
  • 1 teas baking powder
  • ¼ teas salt
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup plus 2 tbs packed light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 teas vanilla
  • ½ cup plus 2 tbs buttermilk, at room temperature

For the caramel filling:

  • ½ cup sugar
  • 3 tbs salted butter, cubed
  • ¼ cup plus 1 tbs heavy cream, at room temperature

For the caramel buttercream:

  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 tbs water
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 1 teas vanilla extract
  • 1 stick salted butter, softened
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ teas sea salt
  • 1 ½ cups confectioners' sugar

Preparation:

For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar over medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about three minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides as needed. Mix in the vanilla.

Add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk, beating until incorporated.

Using a medium ice cream scoop, divide the batter evenly between the lined cups, filling each a little over half way.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then turn the cupcakes out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Make the filling: In a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, melt the sugar, whisking occasionally. Cook until the sugar turns a deep amber.

Stir in the butter until melted. Pour in the heavy cream carefully as the mixture will bubble and foam. Whisk until the mixture becomes a smooth sauce. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

To fill the cupcakes, with a small pairing knife, cut out a circle in the center of each cupcake about 1 inch deep. Don't discard the cutouts. Spoon 1 teas of sauce in the center of each cupcake and pop the tops back on.

Make the buttercream: In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together the sugar and water. Bring to a boil and cook without stirring until the mixture turns a deep amber. Remove from heat and slowly add the cream and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Set aside and let cool for at least 20 minutes. It will still be pourable, just not burn your face off hot any more.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with a clean paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy.

Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and slowly add the confectioners' sugar. Scrape down the sides and with the motor still running on low, pour in the cooled caramel.  Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Spoon icing into an pastry bag fitted with desired tip and ice cupcakes.

 

The winner of last weeks Silpat giveaway from BigKitchen was Sara!

More Baking

  • Banana Bread with Nutella Swirls
  • Banana-Nut Pound Cake with Maple Crown Royal Glaze
  • Homemade Banana Cream Pie
  • Toasted Coconut Blueberry Banana Bread Scones

TESTING

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Tried this recipe? Rate it: Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




  1. Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says

    July 6, 2012 at 6:59 am

    These are lovely! Awesome idea 🙂

    Reply
  2. Belinda @zomppa says

    July 6, 2012 at 8:01 am

    Oh gee - I shouldn't have looked at this in the morning! Now all I want is this!!

    Reply
  3. Ali @ Gimme Some Oven says

    July 6, 2012 at 9:03 am

    Great photos! I love salted caramel anything!!! 🙂

    Reply
  4. sally @ sally's baking addiction says

    July 6, 2012 at 9:17 am

    I recently made salted caramel cupcakes but with chocolate fudgy cupcakes and the caramel frosting on top. The combination was out of this world! Brown sugar cupcakes sound incredible though. Such a nice compliment to the salted caramel. Happy Friday!

    Reply
  5. The Mom Chef ~ Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time says

    July 6, 2012 at 9:20 am

    Easy as cake. You sound like my mother who used to always tell us we were 'threading on thin ice.' But she's French so she has an excuse. 🙂

    I'm stunned by how amazing those cupcakes look. I want to make these. There's no way I'll be able to do the swirly thing with the frosting, but I want them so much. I'm curious as to what heaven cream is. Is that just spell check doing it's thing with heavy cream or is there such a thing?

    Reply
  6. Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious says

    July 6, 2012 at 10:52 am

    Haha I kind of like that expression! It just inspires me to do better to eat cake later! And these cupcakes are gorgeous! I'm a huge salted caramel fan!

    Reply
  7. amanda @ fake ginger says

    July 6, 2012 at 1:04 pm

    These look heavenly!

    Reply
  8. Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says

    July 6, 2012 at 7:57 pm

    I want. And I have a whole cake screaming at me from the other room... no I want these 🙂

    Reply
  9. Julie @ Table for Two says

    July 6, 2012 at 8:20 pm

    these look perfect!! i love the frosting, it's perfectly piped and the salted caramel is just awesome.

    Reply
  10. Medeja says

    July 7, 2012 at 4:46 am

    Oh, they look so fantastic! And I just feel I have to try them..

    Reply
  11. Magic of Spice says

    July 7, 2012 at 3:43 pm

    These are just gorgeous! And love salted caramel...delectable!

    Reply
  12. Suez Kitchen says

    July 7, 2012 at 5:38 pm

    I like the idea of filling the cupcakes with caramel. They sound like a nice blend of caramel flavors with the brown sugar in the cupcakes, the caramel filling and the salted caramel frosting. Will have to give this a try!

    Reply
  13. movita beaucoup says

    July 8, 2012 at 8:52 am

    Holy crow! The cupcakes sound amazing and your photos are NEXT LEVEL!! My mum would absolutely adore these - she's a huge caramel fan, and recently fell in love with the whole salted caramel concept. This is going to secure my position as Favourite Child...

    Reply
  14. sara says

    July 8, 2012 at 12:34 pm

    These cupcakes look awesome! 🙂
    Just saw that I won the Silpat giveaway, yay! Will send you an email shortly. 🙂 Thanks!

    Reply
  15. Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen says

    July 10, 2012 at 10:21 am

    This made me laugh out loud! I can only imagine the "WTH" look you got! Ha! That is totally something that I would shout.

    Reply
  16. Anita at Hungry Couple says

    July 13, 2012 at 12:44 am

    Most people say 'easy as pie' but the exact expression is actually 'easy as eating pie.' However, since you pretty much had me at salted caramel, you can say it however you like! 🙂

    Reply
  17. Roxana GreenGirl { A little bit of everything} says

    July 13, 2012 at 8:14 am

    I thought it's as easy as pie. but i love the cake version even better, and these cupcakes look amazing Kita! the frosting is so perfectly piped! wow!

    Reply
  18. Kaitlin says

    July 13, 2012 at 8:48 am

    Ugh, Kita. Salted caramel is my weakness. What are you trying to do to me here?? 🙂

    Reply
  19. Toni @ Boulder Locavore says

    July 14, 2012 at 7:54 pm

    Sister these are too much! The flavors, the perfection of the top (I'm NOT a tidy icer) and of course the photographs tell the whole mouth-watering tale. Perfection.

    Reply
  20. Jenny says

    July 22, 2012 at 7:42 pm

    They look so beautiful and appetising!

    Reply
  21. Ilan (IronWhisk Blog) says

    July 22, 2012 at 11:40 pm

    yummy!
    Don't worry.. same thing happens to me.

    Reply
  22. Karen says

    August 7, 2012 at 2:56 pm

    I really want to make these, but is there a quantity of sugar missing in the buttercream? You say beat the butter and sugar together then slowly add the confectioner's sugar, but you don't mention how much sugar to beat with the butter. And, do you need 1 stick of salted and 1 stick of unsalted butter? Maybe one of these was meant to be sugar? These cupcakes look amazing, and I love your photography! Thanks!

    Reply
  23. Jodi says

    August 14, 2012 at 11:35 pm

    I made these for my husband's work social along with four other types of "gourmet" cupcakes. These were by far the most popular. So delicious - my new favourite. Thanks for the recipe! Will use again in the future 🙂

    Reply
  24. Bronwyn says

    August 19, 2012 at 1:11 am

    I made these today. I haven't tasted one yet, but all the different components were delicious on their own. It was my first time making caramel and I felt like I had conquered the world!
    If I were to make it again, though, I'd make more of the icing.. there just wasn't enough in my opinion.

    Reply
  25. Kat says

    September 3, 2012 at 1:56 am

    Hi! I really want to try this recipe of yours cuz they look really amazing! But I'm confused as to how the buttercream recipes goes. You say beat the butter and sugar together then slowly add the confectioner’s sugar, but you don’t mention how much sugar to beat with the butter. And, do you need 1 stick of salted and 1 stick of unsalted butter? Maybe one of these was meant to be sugar? Thanks! 🙂

    Reply
    • Kita says

      September 3, 2012 at 7:44 am

      Sorry about that. There is no additional sugar (fixed), but two sticks of butter, one salted and one unsalted are needed.

      Reply
  26. Ling says

    September 21, 2012 at 5:37 am

    Heya, thanks for the recipe. I'm trying it out, but just realised that you didn't mention when to add the seasalt for the frosting?

    Reply
    • Kita says

      September 21, 2012 at 7:47 am

      You can add it in right before the confectioners' sugar. Thanks 🙂

      Reply
  27. Bob says

    November 24, 2012 at 6:52 pm

    Does anyone know how many cupcakes this makes?

    Reply
  28. Cupcake Daily Blog says

    December 18, 2012 at 4:50 pm

    Mmmmm... absolutely lovely! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  29. nita says

    February 7, 2013 at 2:31 pm

    mmmm, these look so tasty ~ i think i'll be making these soon!!!

    Reply
  30. Brandy says

    May 11, 2013 at 3:25 pm

    Is the flour all-purpose? or self-rising?

    Reply
    • Kita says

      May 12, 2013 at 7:59 am

      Always all purpose on PtS unless I note otherwise. Hope you love these 🙂

      Reply
  31. Leah says

    June 14, 2013 at 1:36 pm

    Hi! I baked these cupcakes twice now, using your recipe. The cupcakes are so good, I love your recipe! But I have one problem my cupcakes turned always flat on top even of they are still in the oven they didn't rise like a dome shape. I followed the exact measurement and procedures but I can't get the dome shape top. I don't know if I under/over beat the batter or...I don't really know what's wrong... I am using an electric hand mixer, is there a difference between electric stand mixer to electric hand mixer when doing the batter? I already changed my cupcake baking pans because I thought that is the problem. At first try I used a standard baking powder and at 2nd try I used a double rise baking powder but the results are the same flat top. Then I experimented, I filled the cupcake liners to 2/3 and some are half way and some are 3/4 way but all of them has the same flat top. I hope you can help me and give some tip/ideas. Thank you 🙂

    Reply
    • Tiffany says

      April 1, 2015 at 2:52 pm

      Leah, I actually have the same problem with this recipe. My tops come out flat. I've done this recipe a dozen times, and the one thing I figured out is I have to fill them a little less than 2/3 full so they don't flatten out over the top of the liner and look a mess.

      Reply
  32. Susie says

    July 14, 2013 at 2:56 pm

    Do these need to be refrigerated?

    Reply
  33. Cupcake Daily Blog says

    December 22, 2013 at 3:38 am

    Absolutely lovely!!

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Kita! The mountain biking, travel junkie, professional freelance photographer, and creator behind the scenes.

More about me →

Search

Trending Recipes

  • Spicy Cucumber Martini
  • Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken Breast
  • Cajun Chicken, Shrimp, and Sausage Alfredo Pasta
  • Seafood Scampi Pasta using Angel Hair

Current Wanderlust

  • Puff Pastry Austrian Apple Strudel

Footer

↑ back to top

Browse

  • Cocktail Recipes
  • Dinner Recipes
  • Dessert Recipes
  • Travel & Resources

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails & updates

Information

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2023 PasstheSushi