Caramel Cake Cupcakes with Caramel Spice Frosting

Last week I finished the book The Help and throughout the whole book it kept talking about caramel cake. It got me really curious, so I started looking into recipes. I am not a huge fan of large cakes though, and since I couldn't find a cupcake recipe I really liked, I figured that I would just make one up that fit my style. I'm actually super happy with how this recipe turned out. I added in the cinnamon which made the cupcake less of a traditional caramel cake, but I was trying to figure out how to decorate these, since I used up all of my caramel attempting to figure out a good frosting recipe, and decided to sprinkle the cinnamon on top which gave it a really awesome accompanying flavor. If you want more of the traditional caramel cake taste though, then you can just leave out the cinnamon. It's really yummy either way. Enjoy!!

Cupcake Ingredients

• 1 cup self rising flour
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Caramel Glaze

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel Spice Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup caramel glaze
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 5 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 to 4 teaspoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 18 cupcake tins with paper liners. Sift together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, then add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed beat in buttermilk until combined {mixture may looked curdled}.

Slowly add flour mixture. Fill muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into centers come out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

While baking prepare glaze by combining cream, brown sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Over medium heat bring mixture to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved.

Boil until a candy thermometer reads 210 to 212 degrees. Set aside and let cool for about 5 minutes.

Using a butter knife, or the opposite side of a large icing tip, remove the top center of the cupcake. Fill removed area with 1/2 tablespoon of caramel glaze. Give caramel a couple of minutes to set and soak into the cupcake.

Meanwhile prepare the frosting by combining the butter, caramel glaze, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until almost completely incorporated. Add 2 teaspoons of milk and mix well. Add remaining 1 to 2 teaspoons of milk as needed to bring frosting to piping consistency. Beat frosting on high for 2 minutes to make it light and fluffy. Pipe onto cupcake and sprinkle with cinnamon if desired for decoration.

Makes about 18 cupcakes.

Printable Recipe

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