Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Close up square image of finished cupcake frosted and drizzled with salted caramel.

A tasty and decadent treat, these Salted Caramel Cupcakes are filled with caramel flavor. In the center, in the frosting and drizzled on top, you cannot go wrong with these cupcakes for any occasion.

Prep Time35

Cook Time18

Total Time53

Course: Cupcakes, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 535kcal

Author: Tornadough Alli

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsalted butter at room temp
½ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs at room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons milk

For the center:

½ cup salted caramel sauce or simply add salt to taste to plain caramel sauce

For the frosting:

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
2-3 Tablespoons milk
⅔ cup salted caramel sauce

To decorate:

¼ cup salted caramel sauce optional

Instructions

To make the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and prep a 12-count cupcake pan with paper liners. Set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt until combined. Set aside.
In another medium sized bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugars until smooth and fluffy (about 4 minutes on a medium speed
Add the eggs on by on, adding a Tablespoon of the flour mixture with each one and mixing until combined after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and milk and beat again.
Sift in the remaining flour mixture on low-speed beat until just combined.
Distribute the cupcake batter evenly between your 12 cupcake wells and bake for 18-22 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and vanilla extract with hand mixer until smooth and creamy.
Gradually sift in the powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Once it starts to become a little too thick to mix, add a splash of the milk in alternation with the remaining powdered sugar until both have been completely added.
Add the salted caramel sauce and beat again for another couple of minutes until nice and smooth.

To assemble:

Using a small knife or the wide round end of a piping tip, cut holes into the center of each cupcake, going about ¾ of the way through.
Fill the holes with the salted caramel sauce.
With your desired tip, pipe a swirl of frosting on top of each cupcake.
Drizzle a little extra salted caramel sauce on top if desired.

Notes

Other fillings that would be great would be nutella or a chocolate ganache.
Chocolate cupcakes would also work well with this recipe.
You can make your own homemade salted caramel sauce, use a store bought, or just add salt to store bought caramel sauce.
We do not recommend freezing finished cupcakes, but the cupcakes themselves can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
Make sure you have at least 1 1/2 cups of salted caramel sauce for this recipe.
Easily double this recipe to have more on hand or to bring to gatherings.
The caramel drizzle is optional but highly recommended.

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