Salted Caramel Cupcakes

I came across an excellent recipe for Salted Caramel Cupcakes on an Ankarsrum YouTube channel. Although I’m not the biggest fan of cupcakes, I decided to give this particular recipe a try. The recipe itself is fairly straightforward. The cakes are delightful and airy, with a vanilla flavour. With some caramel on top of the cakes and then frosting as well they make a great sweet treat.

I used my stand mixer to prepare the recipe, but it’s also achievable with a hand mixer or by hand if you prefer. It’s worth mentioning that any type of stand mixer will do, not just an Ankarsrum. Opting for store-bought caramel or dulce de leche simplifies the process, although you can certainly make your own caramel if you wish.

Recipe for Salted Caramel Cupcakes

For the recipe, the ingredient list isn’t extensive. You’ll need flour, butter, sugar, eggs, cream, baking powder, and vanilla to create the light cupcakes. As for the frosting, you’ll require some butter, caramel, icing sugar, and a about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Extra caramel is used on top of the cakes, with a bit more for drizzling.

The process is straightforward as well.

Begin by whisking eggs and sugar until they become light and fluffy. Add the cream and melted butter. Then gently incorporate the flour, baking powder, and vanilla. I used vanilla sugar, but vanilla extract works just as well; it should be added along with the cream and butter. Bake the cakes for approximately 18 minutes, and then let them cool. Scoop out a small portion from the top of each cake and fill it with caramel. Proceed to make the frosting, by mixing the ingredients testing for the right amount of salt, and pipe it onto the cakes. Finally, drizzle a bit more caramel on top and let the frosting set a little before serving.

My cupcakes turned out wonderfully. With their soft and airy cake, rich caramel filling, and sweet yet slightly salty caramel frosting, they were incredibly delicious. I must admit that they were a touch sweeter than my personal preference, but that’s precisely what many people enjoy about cupcakes. In fact, my niece thought these cupcakes were amazing. So, I heartily recommend these cakes as easy to make and most enjoyable to eat. Give them a try. Then let me know what you think, in the comments section.

Another great, yet easy, recipe is Yoghurt Loaf Cake – Quick & Easy.

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Recipe by geoffcoo(adapted from Ankarsrum)Course: Cakes, MuffinsCuisine: InternationalDifficulty: Easy

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

18

minutes

Ingredients

• Cakes

• 180g(1 cup+3tbsp, based on scooping packed flour into a 250ml cup)plain flour

• 150g(10 tbsp+2 tsp) unsalted butter, melted

• 180g(3/4 cup+ 2 1/2 tbsp) caster sugar

• 2 medium eggs(large in USA)

• 100ml(6 tbsp+2 tsp) cream

• 6g(1 1/2 tsp) baking powder

• 10g(2 tsp) vanilla sugar – see note below

• Frosting

• 180g(1 1/2 cups) icing sugar

• 252g(1 cup+2 tbsp) softened unsalted butter

• 100g(5 tbsp) caramel

• 3g(1/2 tsp)salt

• Filling

• 160g(8 tbsp) caramel

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F.
• LIne a muffin tin with paper cases, or great and flour the cups.
• Place the eggs and caster sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer(you can do it all by hand too) and whisk on high speed for about 5 minutes, until they are light and fluffy.
• Pour in the cream and melted butter and mix until fully combined.
• Mix the flour, baking powder and vanilla sugar together.
• With the mixer on slow speed gradually add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
• Spoon the mixture evenly between the 12 paper cases.
• Bake the cakes for 15 to 18 minutes(mine took 18 minutes) until they have risen and a skewer poked into the centre comes out clean.
• Transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Use a teaspoon, or something like a melon baller, to scoop a little of the cake from the top each one.
• Fill the hole in each cake with some caramel(between 1 and 2 tsp according to taste).
• Set the cakes to one side.
• Whisk the butter for the frosting until light and fluffy.
• Add the 100g caramel and whisk until fully combined.
• Gradually add the icing sugar and mix together(slowly at first to avoid billowing sugar clouds).
• Add half of the salt and mix until combined and then taste the frosting to check whether you need to add more salt.
• Place the frosting into a piping bag, fitted with a star nozzle.
• Fill another piping bag with some more caramel if you wish to drizzle it on top of the cupcakes.
• Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.
• Drizzle more caramel over the top if you wish.
• Leave the cupcakes to set up a little before serving.

Notes

• Instead of vanilla sugar you can use 5 ml(1 tsp)vanilla extract, and add it to the mixture when adding the butter and cream.