I’m SO EXCITED to share with you all this cupcake recipe. I truly believe this is the best cupcake I’ve ever made. The buttercream tastes exactly like the first sip of the salted caramel mocha drink you get at Starbucks (well, sans caffeine).
It’s my favorite holiday/seasonal drink and now it’s in cupcake form – brilliant!
These will probably be the moistest cupcakes you will EVER EVER have. Seriously. Also, in the process of buttercream recipe testing, I ate so much buttercream that my hips are cursing me and my jeans aren’t happy!
Alright, so, if you aren’t in the mood to get up to go to Starbucks, whip up a batch of these and you won’t even miss that green lady in your hand :)
Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes
Yield: 2 dozen | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 package of Jello instant chocolate pudding
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
For the salted caramel buttercream:
15-20 caramel candies, unwrapped
3-4 tbsp. heavy cream
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, divided
4 cups powdered sugar, divided
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tins with baking cups.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl, mix together cake mix, instant pudding, sour cream, vegetable oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Mix very well. Gently stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
- Equally divide the batter into the baking cups, filling 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 18-22 minutes, let cool for 5 minutes in pan, then remove and place them on wire cooling racks to cool completely.
- In the meantime, make your buttercream by first melting the caramel candies and heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the caramel is all melted, stir in 1/2 tsp. of salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add in the remaining 1 tsp. of salt.
- Gently add half of the powdered sugar to the butter and beat until light and fluffy. Then drizzle in the caramel while the mixer is on low. If the caramel has hardened up a bit that you can’t pour it, heat it up just enough so you can pour it into the mixer with ease.
- Add the remaining 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until well combined.
- Put the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a pastry tip of your choice.
- Pipe the frosting on top of the cooled cupcakes.
- Store cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Source: cake recipe from Kevin & Amanda, salted caramel buttercream is a Table for Two original
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what a brilliant compliment! they do look so professional! and they sound absolutely delicious!
Julie these are gorgeous! Your icing looks amazing!!
I can almost taste these…
I seriously almost just licked my computer screen. WANT.
Anything with salted caramel, and I am in heaven!
These cupcakes look amazing! Can’t wait to try these!
would you believe i’ve never had a salted caramel mocha in my life? either way, these look fantastic + i’d love to get my hands on one right now!
Looking good. =)
I bet they’re waaaay tastier that that “cupcake place in the shopping center”! hehe
Those cupcakes look fantastical, Julie! Salted caramel–it can do no wrong, yo. Plus, I LOOOOVE that you used boxed cake mix to dress these pups up.
These are so good! Perfect combination of salty and sweet!
these look fantastic Julie!! So glad you are feeling better :)
To.Die.For.
That is all I can say.
Now, this I would adore!!!
These cupcakes look to die for!
These are delicious!! I am lucky to work with Julie, and she shared one with me. Absolutely amazing!
These look so good! I think you should eat one of these with the Starbucks Drink!
Love this recipe! My mom has always added a pudding mix to boxed cake mix and it always makes them so moist. I have to try this buttercream too!
Those cupcakes look gorgeous and fresh looking. You really got me hooked on this – cake mix + choco pudding…what’s easier and fun way for semi-homemade. :D
Oh my god give me the frosting right now… and a side of cupcake ;)
I absolutely love this flavor combo – one of my favorites of all time! I’m not a coffee person so I’ve never had the Starbucks drink, but I’m confident I’d love these all the same :)
Your frosting looks incredible – so high and it sounds heavenly!
I can not even handle that frosting! Looks so good!
The fact that you melted caramel into the frosting is JUST PLIAN GENIUS!!!!! I.AM.MAKING.THESE!!!!
Yessssssssssss! You will LOVE!
That frosting sounds INSANE!! Love it!
Woah, that frosting sounds incredible! The whole thing sounds incredible!
Wow, Julie, you’ve really outdone yourself here! I need to make these ASAP, eat like 10 of these, and then burn off the calories at the gym for 2 weeks. It’ll be so worth it :)
You have mad frosting skills and these cupcakes look down right delicious!
Hi, can you tell me which size of devil’s food cake mix box you used? The sizes are now varied by manuf. Some are 15.25 and some are 16.5 – Thank you!
I’ll take two please. They look absolutely perfect!
I don’t remember. I used the Duncan Hines Deluxe Moist devils food one. So I guess find that one & see what ounce size it is? Sorry!
Wow these are stunning, Julie! These seriously have my mouthwatering. I would have no willpower around these.
If you don’t bring me five of those, I’m making you snuggle with the dog this weekend. Actually you probably won’t have much choice- he’ll probably cuddle with you anyway hahah We need to fit some baking time into the weekend haha
omgahh. i love salted caramel flavor. this is a total win ♥
that frosting…salted carmel sounds so delicious right now!!!!!
These look amazing! Love the salted caramel/chocolate combination!
Hi Julie! I’ve made these exact cupcakes before – you just cannot go wrong with chocolate and salted caramel. Love the chocolate cupcake recipe, too. You get the ease of a boxed mix with a unique homemade taste. It’s brilliant!
Salted caramel mocha lattes are my mom’s favorite starbucks drink. Anything salted caramel is my favorite though! Beautiful piping job too!
Woah…these look AMAZING! I want one. Now!
My face wants to be all up in that buttercream.
You had me at salted caramel. This is my all time favorite fall/holiday flavor! The frosting sounds fabulous!
If you’re ever in AZ stop into Zinburger – they have a salted caramel milkshake that is to die for!
Thanks Julie, that helps alot! these are on my “to-do” list
Oh man! Chocolate and salted caramel heaven! Um, yes Ill take all of them please!!!
I thought I already commented, but these look wonderful!
The fact that you said this tastes just like the first sip of Starbucks is my main motivation to make this frosting ASAP!!! I adore salted caramel…probably a little too much as my jeans are not happy with me either! I love how absolutely perfect your frosting looks:-)
Could you color this frosting? I need blue frosting for my son’s party.
Okay. You know what? I have to stop visiting your blog until my husband comes home! You are killing my diet!
Yeah, you probably could. I just don’t know if the light brown & blue would make a funky color or not.
Whoa. You’re good at piping! I might have gasped when I saw that last picture. And I love this combination!
These cupcakes are amazing! I just finished them up and couldn’t resist a taste test! I sprinkled a little crystallized sugar on top.
Your cupcake frosting look spectacular! I’ve been practicing but my pipping skill is a disaster :( Love love love your blog by the way!!!
Wow, another hit Julie! The perfect combination of sweet and salty. I could just eaten the buttercream as it was simply divine. And the cupcake was yummy too! Very moist and full of chocolate flavor. Loved the mini chocolate chip “surprise”. Highly recommended for baking!
This recipe is amazing!!! The cupcakes turned out delicious and tasted as good as they looked on your blog which is always a thrill! Thank you for sharing!
Julie,
Was your frosting taffy like?
I made this with those little caramel melt balls instead of the candies and my frosting was thick like a soft taffy.
Too much caramel?
No, my frosting was stiff & buttercream like. Definitely not taffy-like. Yes, likely too much caramel.
[...] Buttercream: Lightly adapted from Table For Two Ingredients: 20 caramel candies, unwrapped 4 tablespoons heavy cream 2 sticks unsalted butter, room [...]
I just made these & they are amazing. Cake is moist. Frosting is perfect. Thanks for this great recipe!
I followed the recipe exactly – they were yummy and the frosting is definitely caramel with a wonderful salt flavor.
Going to try this! By the way, what size box of pudding? There are the tiny boxes and med size boxes…
It’s the 3.4 oz size.
Just made these for my families Christmas Eve party! They’re amazing. I’m sure everyone will devour them in a matter of minutes LOL.
Found your blog from Katelyn James’ website!! This recipe looks incredible!! Do you recommend any particular brand for the caramel candies?
No brand, just really any caramel candies you can find. I’ve used Milk Maid and Kraft brands before, though, if that helps you at the store! :) thanks for popping by!
What kind of mini choc. chips did you use? Semisweet?
Semisweet.
happily pinning your yummies – thank you for sharing and making me drool! ♥
http://pinterest.com/pin/56787645273542560/
Thank you, friend!! :)
Hi! These are delicious! I had a hard time with the frosting though. Definitely not able to pipe it. It was very thick and stiff. I could pick up the frosting and smoosh it like a pancake then lay it on top the cakes ha! Ideas of what I did wrong? Too much caramel? Too much/not enough powdered sugar? Over mixing, not enough mixing? Caramel too hot??? I want to take these to a party, but would like them to look better this time. Thanks!
I think it’s too much powdered sugar. If that happens, you could add a tbsp. of milk at a time until you get it to the consistency you want.