Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes
You didn’t think that I’d tease you with salted caramel sauce yesterday and not provide you with something deliciously evil to do with it, did you? As I mentioned when we talked about the sauce, I’ve had a lot of fun with salted caramel baked goods over the last year, and I have loved each and every one of them. Yet, there was something missing. One crucial recipe that I had yet to perfect. Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting. After seeing (and trying) tons of salted caramel cupcakes at various cupcake shops, I kept meaning to make my own. How something like that gets pushed to the back burner, I’ll never know. You all have Michelle C. to thank for getting salted caramel cupcakes back to the front and center of my mind, where it absolutely needed to be. Michelle shared a photo of her brand new KitchenAid mixer that she received as a Mother’s Day gift on the BEB Facebook page. When I asked her the first thing she made, she said she was waiting to break it in with a salted caramel cupcake recipe, and was waiting to see one from me. I can’t have me be the only thing standing in the way of a woman and KitchenAid bliss, so I made it my business to catapult salted caramel cupcakes to the top of my “to do” list. Well, Michelle, I hope you love these cupcakes as much as I did, and that they make your inaugural KitchenAid baking experience fun and delicious!
When it comes to salted caramel cupcakes, there is certainly no shortage of variations. Salted caramel cupcakes with salted caramel frosting. Brown sugar cupcakes with salted caramel frosting. Vanilla cupcakes with salted caramel frosting. Chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel frosting. As you can tell, there was definitely one constant – salted caramel frosting. That was perfect, since I already knew, without a doubt, that my cupcakes would be adorned with salted caramel buttercream frosting. Now, what type of base to use?
I thought long and hard about it, and at first was leaning towards an all-salted caramel cupcake, but then stepped back from the ledge. I thought it might be a little overkill. Salted caramel is awesome, but I think the essence of it really shines when it’s used in combination with a contrasting flavor and texture. That’s what makes it such an amazing pairing with brownies, ice cream, and hot chocolate. At the end of the day, I couldn’t ignore my infatuation with all things salted caramel and chocolate. A chocolate cupcake it was!
While there isn’t any salted caramel used directly in the cupcake itself, there is one part of the process that creates a caramel-like flavor, which adds to the recipe as a whole. Instead of beating together the butter and sugar in the mixing bowl as most recipes would call for, the butter and sugar are cooked slowly in a saucepan until the butter is completely melted. The result is a little bit of a mix between a nutty, caramel flavor and smell, and that of browned butter. I wish I could have supplied you with a scratch and sniff here! That one little step adds volumes in terms of flavor and how well the chocolate cupcake complements the salted buttercream frosting.
So, there you have it. An incredibly moist, amazing chocolate cupcake with just a hint of caramel undertones, topped with a salted caramel cream cheese buttercream frosting. Drizzle a little extra salted caramel sauce on top and finish off with a pinch of flaky sea salt, and you have one seriously phenomenal cupcake.
One year ago: Peanut Butter Brownies
Two years ago: Guacamole
Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- ½ cup (43 g) plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
- ½ cup (125 ml) plus 1 tablespoon hot water
- 2¼ cups (281.25 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- 1 cup (227 g) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 ⅔ cups (333.33 g) granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (172.5 ml) sour cream
For the Salted Caramel Frosting:
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup (113 ml) salted caramel sauce
- 4 cups (480 g) powdered sugar
To Garnish:
- Salted Caramel Sauce
- Fleur de Sel, or other flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard-size muffin pans with paper liners.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Combine the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth, and the butter is completely melted. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-low speed until the mixture is cool, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture, beating until smooth.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low, and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix each addition until just incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the Frosting: Beat together the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed for 5 minutes (I like to use the whisk attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer, but it’s not necessary). Pour in the salted caramel and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to medium-low and slowly add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until it has all been incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional two to three minutes, until light and fluffy.
- To finish, pipe frosting onto the top of each cupcake (or use an offset spatula to spread the frosting), drizzle with some additional salted caramel sauce, and sprinkle with a pinch of fleur de sel. (Note: I used an Ateco #864 decorating tip to frost these cupcakes.)
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
These are absolutely amazing! Every time I make them, they are a huge hit.
This is the best salted caramel recipe out there. I make it every few weeks. It has a deliciously rich flavor and the recipe itself is easy to follow. BEB always comes through with the best recipes.
Sounds amazing.
Any special considerations is I half the recipe? Advice for how to measure 1.5 eggs? Hmm. Thx!
I made this and they were really good. Next time I am going to try caramelizing the butter and sugar more so that the flavor is a bit stronger but otherwise, awesome. I’m going to try it as a cake next!
Would the caramel frosting be good on vanilla cupcakes?
I made these for my Nan’s birthday and they were amazing. People said the best cupcakes they have ever had. I saw your nutritional info at the bottom for the whole cupcake, but do you happen to have the nutritional info for a tablespoon of just the frosting? Thank you!!!
Hi Katie, So thrilled that these were a big hit! Unfortunately I don’t know the nutritional info for just one tablespoon of frosting, I’m sorry!
Doubled the recipe and made a big cake for my twins 8th birthday. Delicious cake, beautiful and rich. Thank you for this easy and straightforward recipe. My babies were so happy!
What size pans did you use? How long did you bake for? I’m considering this recipe for my daughter’s birthday.
Decadent and simply amazing. I made these for coworkers, and they were a huge hit. Thank you for sharing your recipes with us!!
Tastes amazing! It’s the perfect blend of chocolate and salted carmel. I used the homemade salted carmel recipe and turned out really good!
Perfect combination of flavors . . this is hands down the most requested recipe I have used in an age. Thanks!
Would there be any harm in adding the salted caramel after the powdered sugar is mixed in? I need to make one batch of regular cream cheese frosting, too.
I Love Love Love your salted Carmel sauce! I was excited to make these cupcakes. I messed up somewhere. My cake was dry and crumbly. Any ideas where I might have messed up? When I put the butter and sugar together over heat, should it have still be grainy? (Mine was). ❤️
Just amazing…I can’t even put it into words. The flavors are wonderful and the icing can’t be beat!!! They were labor intensive but I have to say this is my first time making the caramel (and with out the thermometer) and they turned out perfect!!! My husband says he’d give them 6 stars, Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe!
Fantastic recipe– just made it today and it was a huge hit. Very moist cupcake and the frosting was the perfect amount of sweet with a little salty. I am definitely saving this to make again. The only thing I’d change is to halve the frosting recipe– I have so much leftover (even though I piled it on!), I’ll probably have to make a new batch of cupcakes (oh no, twist my arm).
Thanks for the great recipe!
I made these for a party on the weekend and they were a huge hit. The salted caramel is to die for. Thanks for sharing a perfect recipe!
I am absolutely in love with everything about this recipe! I have been making these cupcakes for people on various occasions for about 3 years. I started with the caramel sauce (which is now my absolute go to caramel sauce recipe), then I made the frosting and put it on cupcakes I made from a mix, and most recently, I tackled everything – cupcakes, caramel sauce, and frosting. This recipe has never been anything less than a total hit, and people request me to make them all the time. Baking is so calming to me, and it also makes me smile to bring joy to others through food. I thank you SO MUCH for having such an accessible website with delicious recipes that allows me to share your creations with others. I love the pictures, helpful hints, and straight forward ingredients. Thanks for helping build confidence in this home baker!! :)
I would like to make this in a cake. Any idea how the dimensions convert and what size pan I would need? Thanks!
Hi Liz, This recipe will yield a 9×13 cake or a double layer 8″ or 9″ cake. Enjoy!
Absolutely delicious! Thanks so much for this recipe, these cupcakes are a mouthful of heaven!
How brown eyed baker. I love your margarita cupcakes!!!! Best one yet!
Will try to make the salted caramel choco cupvakes. What kind of caramel sauce brand did you use?
Hi Eileen, I actually use homemade salted caramel sauce for this recipe, which is linked to in the recipe above.
Hi,
I thought I’d make these for an bridal shower and I wondered if i could make the batter ahead of time.
Is that weird?
I tried making this today and the cupcake came out perfectly moist and tender and i’m afraid that making this and keeping in the fridge overnight will cause them to lose some of their moisture.
Let me know if i’m being paranoid. Any tips on how to store for event?
Much appreciated. :)
You can ignore my question. I did a bit of legwork and the answer would be no. I read leavening agents like baking powder start to break down after a half hour. Thought I’d share this info with folks just in case anyone else is wondering.
:)
Hi Carrie, I was going to say the same – the leavening starts to lose its potency after a short while so it’s generally not a good idea to make cake batter ahead of time. You can leave them at room temperature if it’s COOL room temperature (no warmer than 70 degrees), but if you store in an airtight container in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before serving, they should not be dry.
Delicious! Took me two tries to get the caramel right, then baked my way to heaven. Thank you!
These were absolutely fantastic! I have made them multiple times and they have never failed! Well done!????
Most Delicious cupcakes ever!
Hi! I’m so obsessed with your cupcake recipes, it’s stupid. I know it can get a little wonky as we try and double/triple baking recipes. Can you tell me how it may effect cupcakes if we’re tripling the recipe?
I also saw on one of your responses that you can refrigerate frosting for about 5 days before using – is that all frosting? or just this one?
Thanks so much!!
Hi Chelsea, I haven’t tried scaling this recipe, so I couldn’t say for sure how they would react to tripling the recipe. As for the frosting, in general any American buttercream (butter, powdered sugar, some flavors/milk) will keep that long.
Can i use regular cocoa powder (unsweetened) instead pf dutch processed?
Hi Rachel, It SHOULD work, but I haven’t tried it, so there could be some variance in how the cupcakes raise.
These cupcakes are amazing and definitely my favourite! I made them for my birthday and didn’t have time to make from scratch on the day of – so I made the batter ahead of time and froze it in a freezer bag. Then defrosted in the fridge, cut the tip and ‘piped’ into liners. So easy and tasted just like fresh (I have made this recipe fresh before). I also made the caramel sauce ahead of time, but made the icing fresh. The left over icing that I used a few days later wasn’t as good (had some lumps in it that clogged the piping bag) but nonetheless usable and just as tasty! Highly recommend!