Recipe | Caramel cupcakes with caramel buttercream

Delicious caramel cupcakes with a swirl of caramel buttercream. A perfect sweet treat!

Sorry that all my recipes lately seem to start with, “So I made X and had Y ingredient left over so I made Z,” but I’m afraid this week it’s more of the same!

I made peanut butter and caramel fudge recently and had most of a tin of caramel left over. I searched for a cupcake recipe which included caramel in the mixture ingredients and found this one at Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen. It worked brilliantly and I was delighted with the delicious results!

Ingredients (makes 12-15 cupcakes)

165 g / 6 oz light brown or light muscovado sugar
165 g / 6 oz butter or baking margarine
165 g / 6 oz self-raising flour
3 large eggs
0.25 tsp vanilla extract (if you don’t include this it won’t matter much!)
150 g / 5 oz caramel (mine was shop-bought from a tin. Of course, you can make your own!)

For the buttercream

350 g / 12 oz icing sugar
150 g / 5 oz butter or baking margarine
150 g / 5 oz caramel

Method

Put 12 cupcake cakes into a muffin or bun tray. I was delighted to discover that the mixture was enough for 15 cupcakes so I had to use a second tray, but this will depend on how large your cases are. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C (160 fan)/ Gas Mark 4 / 356 degrees F.

If you have a stand mixer or electric beaters, use them to make blending the ingredients easier. You can use the all-in-one method and put all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix them until you get a smooth mixture. I prefer to blend the sugar and margarine/butter first until smooth. Then add the eggs one at a time, mixing between each addition. Add the vanilla and caramel, stir in until combined. Finally, add the flour gradually, folding it into the mixture until fully incorporated.

Spoon the caramel cupcake mixture into the cupcake cases. Fill each about two-thirds full.

Bake the caramel cupcakes for 18-20 minutes. My oven always tends to bake things faster than the recipe suggests, so I started keeping an eye on them from 15 minutes. When the caramel cupcakes are golden brown, risen and a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean, take them out of the oven and leave to cool completely either in the tin or on a cooling rack.

While the caramel cupcakes are cooling, make the caramel buttercream. Blend together the butter/margarine, caramel and icing sugar until you have a smooth paste. If you feel it’s a little runny, add some more icing sugar. Alternatively, if a little too stiff, add a tablespoon of milk.

Pipe the caramel buttercream onto your cooled caramel cupcakes using the piping tip of your choice. Alternatively apply a layer of buttercream using a spoon or knife.

Because of the buttercream, it’s very important to store your caramel cupcakes in a cool, dry place. I keep mine in an airtight tub in the fridge, getting them out a few minutes before serving so they can warm up to room temperature. Try to eat them within a couple of days for them to be at their best.