These salted caramel cupcakes are so easy to make and taste amazing! Filled with an easy to make salted caramel sauce and topped with the best whipped cream frosting, you will wonder why you didn’t make these sooner!
I wanted to make a cupcake that reminded me of one of my favorite chocolates! You know the ones- those Ghirardelli chocolate squares with caramel in the center! YUM! So here it is!
You guys know I love my cupcakes! Here are a few of the cupcakes I’ve done recently!
- White Cupcakes
- Homemade Chocolate Cupcakes (with a marshmallow frosting!!)
- 4th of July Cupcakes
- Hidden Cache Yellow Cupcakes
- Strawberry Cupcakes
- Grapefruit Cupcakes
- Orange Cupcakes
These are the best chocolate salted caramel cupcakes!
Salted Caramel Cupcake Recipe
- Fill your favorite chocolate cupcakes with the easy salted caramel sauce either by using a filling tip, or my surprise cupcake method.
- Pipe on the best whipped cream frosting.
- Drizzle chocolate and caramel sauce on top.
- Enjoy!
What type of chocolate cupcakes did I use?
This recipe works great with my homemade chocolate cupcake recipe.
Salted Caramel Cupcake- you need to make this!
Do you love caramel like me? You can also use this caramel in my easy banana ice cream with salted caramel recipe! So good!
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This recipe is actually part of an awesome event going on called #CupcakeMondays! Some awesome fellow bloggers and I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite cupcake recipes with you! Go see all the other delicious cupcakes!!!
To continue the #CupcakeMondays party, be sure to check out all the cupcake recipes! You are in for a treat!!
Zucchini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting from The Itsy-Bitsy Kitchen
Better Than Box Mix Cupcakes from Kelly Lynn's Sweets and Treats
Peach Moscato Cupcakes from Blue Bowl Recipes
Candy Apple Cupcakes from Love in My Oven
White and Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes from Pies and Tacos
Tropical Passion Fruit Cupcakes from A Classic Twist
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Salted Caramel Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 batch chocolate cupcakes
- 1-2 batches whipped cream frosting*
For the salted caramel
- 2 cups white sugar
- 12 tbs unsalted butter at room temp
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream at room temp
- 2 teaspoon salt I love using Redmond RealSalt*
Other items needed
- 1 Filling Tip recommended but not necessary
- 1 Wilton 1M Tip for frosting
- 2 decorating/piping bags
- ½ cup chocolate chips for garnish, optional
Instructions
- You will want to make 1 batch of your favorite chocolate cupcakes (24 cupcakes in total). I recommend my homemade chocolate cupcakes! Make sure they are cooled completely before filling and frosting!
- Make 1 batch of my stabilized whipped cream frosting. Depending on how you frost the cupcakes you may need a second batch.
To make the salted caramel sauce:
- In a heavy bottomed sauce pan/pot, add your sugar. Over medium heat melt the sugar stirring constantly. As the sugar melts it will start to clump before it gets smooth. This is normal.
- Once it’s melted, continue stirring, and allow it to become an amber color and start to have a nutty smell. Be careful not to let it go past this stage or else it will burn and no one wants that!
- Once it is the right color, add in the butter and whisk together. Whisking helps the butter not separate, or if it does separate from the sugar it will help it reincorporate. Adding the butter will cause the sugar to get really foamy and rise a bit. That’s good! Keep stirring until the butter is fully mixed in.
- Once the butter is mixed in, slowly pour in the heavy cream, whisking as you pour. The mixture will become slightly foamy again and that’s fine. As it mixes in completely it will smooth out.
- Stir in your salt, and if cool enough do a little taste test. If it isn’t salty enough for your liking add more in in 1 teaspoon increments until it is as salty as you want it.
- Pour your salted caramel sauce into a glass container and allow it to cool. It will thicken up really nicely once fully cooled. If you need it to thicken fast, stick it in your freezer for 20-30 minutes.
- Keep unused caramel sauce in your refrigerator up to 2 weeks!
How to fill cupcakes with the salted caramel:
- Using your filling tip, which you can find at Walmart or any craft store in the cake decorating isle, place into a decorating bag (make sure to cut off the little end of the bag so the tip can go through the end), and fill with your cooled salted caramel sauce. If the caramel sauce isn’t cooled/thick enough it will run right out the tip and make a huge mess and we don’t want that!
- Insert the filling tip into a cupcake and squeeze the caramel sauce into the cupcake. The cupcake will plump slightly when it is full. You can also feel the cupcake swell. Also, if you put too much caramel into the cupcake it will ooze out the sides and be messy- but still delicious. When using the filling tip you don’t need to scoop out any of the cupcake.
- Do this to all the cupcakes. If you don’t have a filling tip, scoop out some of the inside of the cupcakes and pour caramel into the hole, similar to what I do for my surprise cupcakes.
How to frost and decorate your salted caramel cupcakes:
- Using your second decorating bag insert the Wilton 1M tip. You can find this tip in any cake decorating isle at a grocery or craft store.. Fill this bag with your easy whipped cream frosting and pipe onto the cupcakes. I like to start at the center of the cupcakes and move in a clockwise pattern out to the edges of the cupcake and then layer up, while still piping on the frosting in a clockwise motion. Depending on how big you make your frosting swirls you may need a second batch of frosting.
- Melt your chocolate chips in the microwave, for 30 seconds, stir, and then repeat until melted. The using a spoon drizzle the chocolate over the cupcakes.
- Drizzle additional caramel over the cupcakes as well!
- Enjoy!
- Store these cupcakes in the refrigerator until ready to be served.
Notes
Nutrition
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Jackie Rybeck says
Have you ever used the Kraft Caramel squares in the center? Wondering when I should put them in...Maybe 1/2-2/3 through baking, so they will not sink to the bottom, yet still melt. Any thoughts? Can't wait to try these tomorrow.
Lisa says
I haven't used those for cupcakes before. What I would do is try putting them in like 3 cupcakes before baking- just to see if they do sink, and then put 3 in 1/2-2/3 way through- to see what they turn out like. But the easiest way is probably to insert them in right when you take the cupcakes out. Being careful since the cupcakes will be hot, cut a small hole in the top of the cupcake and then press the caramel inside. Similar to how I make my surprise cupcakes except you want the cupcakes to be hot in order to melt the caramel. Then frost over the hole! I would think baking the caramel inside the cupcakes might work but also the caramel might just dissipate somewhat into the cupcake so you won't get a super gooey center. But I really don't know without experimenting. Let me know how it goes!
Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats says
Oh my gooooooodness! That caramel filling! That's like taking a bite of heaven! These cupcakes have all my favorite flavors....totally wishing I was your neighbor right now. And had so much fun in participating #CupcakeMondays with you 🙂 XOXO
Lisa says
I wish we were neighbors too! Thanks so much! These were super delicious to make and #Cupcake Mondays was a blast!
Katherine | Love In My Oven says
That filling is making me drool big time. Salted caramel is my absolute fave. These are the bomb!!
Lisa says
Thanks!!
camila says
Wow these cupcakes are just absolutely amazing, Lisa!! You had me at caramel center!! YUMMMM!! Id love to devour one!
Lisa says
Thanks Cam! XD They sure got eaten up fast!
Zainab Storms says
Whoa whoa whoa!! These salted caramel cupcakes are EPIC! I love that there's a surprise in the middle too. Yumm! Thanks for joining the #CupcakeMondays party!
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen says
WHOA! Salted caramel and chocolate are two of my favorite things. I need to try these!