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Salted caramel chocolate cupcakes-your favorite coffeehouse drink in cupcake form!
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!
I brought this cupcake to so many people. I brought it in for my coworkers and I brought it to happy hour with my friends. Upon my arrival with the cupcake box to the bar, the bartender asked me, “oh, are those cupcakes from the cupcake place in the shopping center?” You have no idea how awesome it felt to tell her, “nope, I made them!” with a big, cheesy grin :) I love that my frosting skills have improved so much. I remember my first few trials with frosting. Oh man, those were the days!
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
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 box devil’s food cake mix
- 1 package of Jello instant chocolate pudding
- 1 cup (230 g) sour cream
- 1 cup (237 ml) vegetable oil
- 4 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup (118 ml) milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cup (270 g) mini chocolate chips
For the salted caramel buttercream
- 15-20 caramel candies, unwrapped
- 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 16 tablespoons (224 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups (480 g) powdered sugar, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F (177 °C) 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.1 box devil’s food cake mix, 1 package of Jello instant chocolate pudding, 1 cup (230 g) sour cream, 1 cup (237 ml) vegetable oil, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup (118 ml) milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 1/2 cup (270 g) mini chocolate chips
- 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.15-20 caramel candies, 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher 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.16 tablespoons (224 g) unsalted butter
- 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.2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar
- Add the remaining powdered sugar and beat until well combined.2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar
- 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.
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.
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!
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!
Your cupcake frosting look spectacular! I’ve been practicing but my pipping skill is a disaster :( Love love love your blog by the way!!!
These cupcakes are amazing! I just finished them up and couldn’t resist a taste test! I sprinkled a little crystallized sugar on top.
Whoa. You’re good at piping! I might have gasped when I saw that last picture. And I love this combination!
Okay. You know what? I have to stop visiting your blog until my husband comes home! You are killing my diet!
Could you color this frosting? I need blue frosting for my son’s party.
Yeah, you probably could. I just don’t know if the light brown & blue would make a funky color or not.
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:-)
I thought I already commented, but these look wonderful!