Salted Caramel Cupcakes

I can't remember exactly what started my quest for the perfect salted caramel cupcake.  I think my first real salted caramel dessert experience was courtesy of my friend Meredith, although they don't seem to be on her blog.  My quest was a salted caramel cupcake to die for.  This is attempt number two, and it is well worth the effort.  It is a caramel cupcake with caramel filling, salted caramel frosting, and a sugar decoration.  Most of this is based of of the Triple Salted Caramel Cupcakes on Sprinkle Bakes.

My first attempt at a salted caramel cupcake used a white cake recipe and I just wasn't happy with it.  It didn't have enough pizazz and the texture was too fine.  I typically like the texture of this cupcake, but in this case, it just didn't match the frosting. For my second attempt, I used a caramel cake mix and followed my go to box based cake recipe that I used in my red velvet cupcakes.  I used a vanilla pudding mix for that recipe.

 

Update 7/16/2013: Forget the Caramel Cake, this is amazing with Chocolate Cake!  Use the same recipe with a Devil's Food cake mix and a dark chocolate pudding mix.  The combination of the chocolate cake and salted caramel frosting is in the running for my favorite cupcake ever, although there is some stiff competition.

 

I've gotten in the habit of  sifting my cake mixes.  Occasionally I find some sugar chunks in the cake mixes.  I don't actually put them through a sifter, just whisk them through a colander.

The rest of the recipe is really forgiving, just dump everything in and mix.

Have I mentioned that my husband is wonderful?  My Kitchen Aid mixer has to be my favorite Christmas present ever.  I'm also a big fan of my birthday (or was it anniversary) glass mixing bowl.  How pretty!

I also really like my 1.5 oz. portion scoop.  It seems to be about right for a smallish cupcake. 

One batch of cake makes about 24 cupcakes.

I'm not very good at keeping track of how long I bake my cupcakes.  I've settled on 325 degrees and  bake until a toothpick come out with a few crumbs.  If it comes out clean, they are probably too dry. 

My original attempt at salted caramel cupcakes had some caramel in the center, but I really don't think that was necessary.  For that, I cored the cupcakes and put in a little dollop.  If I did this again, I would make it thin enough to pipe a little into the cupcake.  For the caramel in the frosting, I used my mom's caramel dip recipe. 

This is really simple.  Unwrap a package of KRAFT caramels and put in a microwave safe bowl.  Yes, the brand is important.  I've tried others and it takes a lot longer for this to come together.  It is worth finding the Kraft brand.  Once you have the caramels unwrapped, add a sticks of butter and a can of sweetened condensed milk.

Microwave on high, stirring frequently until it is smooth.  Let this cool to room temperature before starting your frosting.  You can put it in the fridge.

My frosting is closely related to Sprinkle Bakes version. Instead of making their caramel, I used the caramel dip. 

Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting:


1 stick salted butter
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
~ 1/4 recipe Caramel Dip
I found the original recipe much too thin and buttery, so I added quite a bit more powdered sugar.  Cream the salted and unsalted butter and add sea salt.  Mix in the powdered sugar and caramel until you get a flavor and consistency that you like.  My husband wasn't sold on the salty frosting, but I loved it!

I like to frost using Wilton tip 1M.  If you want a softer frosting, I would recommend using a round tip to make a dollop instead.

At this point you could drizzle them with a bit of caramel sauce.  The sugar decorations are totally optional.  I had fun playing with them.   I followed the instructions from sprinkle bakes, but found that the temperature is very important.  I used this temperature chart.  From that chart I selected the hard crack stage to cook to which was 300 to 310 degrees.  On the early end of this is a lighter color and toward the higher end is pretty dark and a bit burnt tasting.

 

To get some fun shapes I used little bowls.  I think I liked the flat ones just as well.  I put these on parchment paper coated in cooking spray.  The bowls were also well coated with cooking spray.  Making these was harder than I had imagined.  The caramel just coated the bottom of the pan so getting it on the spoon was difficult and it cools quickly making it extra tough.  Give yourself plenty of counter space to drizzle so you can do a lot of them quickly and practice.  Also, you may want to sprinkle on some coarse sugar as you go.  Mine cooled a bit too quickly.  I also finally found coarse crystal sugar at of all places TJ Maxx of all places.

The final product was pretty and delicious.  The great part about these is the balance.  The salt keeps them from being too sickly sweet and the caramel adds nice depth of flavor.  I'll be making these again soon so I'll update you if there are any improvements!  Good luck!