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Caramel Filled Cupcakes

caramel filled cupcakes with drizzle and caramel candy on wooden board.
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These yummy Caramel Filled Cupcakes are a caramel lover's dream come true! A lightly spiced cupcake is filled with a scratch made caramel, frosted with a dreamy caramel buttercream, and finished with a rich caramel drizzle. I am SURE these cupcakes will be a hit at your next party!

Ingredients

Units Scale

FOR THE CARAMEL:

  • 110g brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 80g salted butter- sliced into tabs
  • 50g whole milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

FOR THE CUPCAKES:

  • 120g neutral flavored oil (vegetable, canola, avocado)
  • 180g granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg- room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 170g all purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 120g whole milk- room temperature

FOR THE CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM:

  • 113g salted butter- room temperature
  • 60g caramel sauce (either store-bought or your homemade caramel)
  • 215g powdered sugar
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt (taste with 1/4 teaspoon then add more as needed)
  • 1-3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

MAKING THE CARAMEL:

  1. Place brown sugar and water into a medium, heavy bottomed pot and set over medium/low heat. Whisk constantly, then bring to a boil. 
  2. Once the brown sugar is consistently bubbling, add in the tabs of butter and whisk until smooth. Bring back up to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.
  3. Take the pot off of the heat and carefully pour in the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. The mixture will bubble up rapidly, so be careful! Whisk it all together.
  4. Once whisked and smooth, return the pot to heat and boil for 3 minutes, whisking constantly to prevent burning. After three minutes, turn the heat off and allow the caramel sauce to cool completely.

MAKING THE CUPCAKES: 

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with 10 paper liners
  2. In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together the oil and sugar.
  3. Next, add in the egg and vanilla extract to the oil mixture and beat on medium speed until it looks light and fluffy.
  4. In a separate medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon until well combined.
  5. Add the whisked dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed just until no traces of flour remain.
  6. Pour the milk into the batter and again, mix on low until JUST combined.
  7. Carefully divide the cupcake batter between the paper liners, filling each one 2/3-3/4 of the way full. 
  8. Bake for 17-19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Carefully remove the cupcake pan from the oven and turn cupcakes out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

MAKING THE BUTTERCREAM:

  1. Once the caramel and cupcakes are fully cooled, you can make the buttercream. In a large mixing bowl use a hand mixer to cream together the butter and caramel sauce until lighter in color.
  2. Next, add the powdered sugar, salt, and 1 tablespoon of milk into the butter/caramel mixture and mix on low until the sugar is just combined. Once fully mixed in, turn the speed up to high and beat for 2 minutes.
  3. If the caramel buttercream is too thick add more milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you get the right consistency. Additionally, if the buttercream is too sweet, mix in a little bit of salt until it's right for your taste.

FILLING AND FROSTING:

  1. When your cupcakes are cooled, use a cupcake corer or a sharp knife to cut a hole in the middle of each one, taking care NOT to cut through the bottom. 
  2. Fill each hole with some of the homemade caramel
  3. Transfer the caramel buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a large tip, or use an offset spatula, then spread the frosting on top of each cupcake.
  4. Decorate as desired, then serve and enjoy!

Notes

  • Use room temperature ingredients: The caramel, cupcakes, and buttercream all benefit from using room temperature ingredients.
  • Make the caramel first: Make the caramel first, so that it can cool completely while you bake and cool the cupcakes.
  • Keep a close eye on the caramel: You don't want it to burn! Look at the photos (above) and use common sense when making caramel from scratch to prevent it from burning.
  • Cool caramel completely before filling: The caramel has to be cooled before filling your cupcakes with it. I like to put it in the fridge, but you can also let it cool to room temperature.
  • Don't over mix the cupcake batter: Careful when mixing the cupcake batter, you only want to mix until the dry ingredients are just incorporated so the cupcakes don't become tough.
  • Watch buttercream consistency: When mixing the caramel topping into the butter, I noticed that it can become quite thick. So you may need to add some milk to thin it out.
  • Storing: Keep leftover cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 4 days. They're best served room temperature.

Find it online: https://www.coleinthekitchen.com/caramel-filled-cupcakes/