Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Chocolate Frosting
Chocolate Cupcakes are tender, chocolate cupcakes topped with a luscious, creamy salted caramel chocolate frosting. Top them off with a salted caramel drizzle for the ultimate cupcake!
Are you tired of sweets? If so, I apologize for putting these cupcakes in your face. I’ve been sugared out since the beginning of February, but that didn’t stop me from eating Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies and Almond Dragees like they were going out of style.
Then to top it off, my niece and my sister had birthdays, and that always means cupcakes. Of course, I offered to make them, because I wanted to try making these Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream.
Can you blame me? 🙂
The driving force behind these cupcakes was some homemade salted caramel sauce that was in the fridge. Caramel can be really sweet for me, so it has to include sea salt!
The salt tones down the sweetness and just enhances the caramel flavor. There’s not a salted caramel craze for nothing. 😉
I used a tried and true cupcake recipe for the cake, and I tinkered around with the frosting. It was a fun experiment because I got to keep trying it as I went. 🙂
I knew right away when I got it right because I wanted to eat a big spoonful. I refrained, because I made just enough for 12 cupcakes. I didn’t want any extra luscious frosting lying around my house.
I decided to drizzle more caramel sauce on top with some more Maldon salt because you can’t have too much of a good thing, and these cupcakes are definitely a good thing. 🙂
Additional cupcake recipes you’ll love:
- Black bottom cupcakes
- German chocolate cupcakes by Cooking Classy
- Hummingbird cupcakes
- Vanilla cupcakes
Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder optional
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
For the Salted Caramel Sauce:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 1 teaspoon fleur de sel I used Maldon salt
For the buttercream:
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon milk
- 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce
- 1 teaspoon fleur de sel
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate melted and cooled slightly
Instructions
Prepare the cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the cocoa, flour, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream together on medium high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs on low speed one at a time, mixing until well incorporated after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the Greek yogurt, ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber scraper as needed.
- Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full, and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched lightly or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cook in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely.
Prepare the salted caramel sauce:
- Place the sugar and water in medium saucepan over medium low heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat to high, and boil the sugar without stirring. If the sugar begins to crystallize on the sides of the pan, carefully use a wet pastry brush to brush it off. Boil until the sugar turns a deep amber color, being careful not to burn, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in the cream a bit at a time, as the caramel will bubble over if too much is added at once. Whisk in the butter and fleur de sel. Transfer to a dish to cool.
Prepare the buttercream:
- Place the butter and powdered sugar in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium until the sugar has been incorporated. Add the milk, caramel sauce and fleur de sel, and beat until combined. Add the melted chocolate, and beat until incorporated. Once incorporated, beat the buttercream at medium high speed for 3 minutes until creamy.
- Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes, and garnish with more caramel sauce and sprinkle with fleur de sel. Enjoy!
Notes
- The salted caramel sauce will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Heat before serving.
- Cupcake recipe adapted from Martha Stewart’s Chocolate Cupcakes.
- Salted Caramel Sauce and Salted Caramel Chocolate Frosting recipes by Flavor the Moments.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
44 Comments on “Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Chocolate Frosting”
These are some seriously gorgeous photos Marcie! I love chocolate cupcakes and salted caramel together is perfection!
Thank you, Chelsea! This is one of my favorite flavor combos. 🙂
I love these Marcie!! Salted Caramel and chocolate are just the best together.
Thanks, Zainab! It certainly is one fabulous combo. 🙂
These cupcakes look amazing Marcie! I love chocolate cupcakes and they sound perfect with the salted caramel frosting!
Thank you, Kelly! I don’t know why it never occurred to me to add salted caramel sauce to buttercream before. I’m not normally a huge frosting person, but this frosting really made these cupcakes special. Have a great day! 🙂
Now these are cupcakes!! Ever since right after the holiday season I’ve been kinda not as into sweets as normal (crazy right??). I’m not even sure why! But I do still love seeing all these recipes (you know, to stock up for when I’m ready for sugar again! haha). But seriously, this combo is awesome.
My posts aren’t reflecting the way I’m eating right now, which is more savory. Crazy! I made sure I gave all the extra cupcakes away. 🙂 Thanks, Ashley, and have a great day. 🙂
This looks like the perfect cupcake! Love me some salted caramel 🙂
Thanks, Christin! 🙂
What pretty pictures and beautiful cupcakes! They sound delicious, too.
Thank you, Nicole! I just love the sweet and salty combination. 🙂
I’m going to have to try the Maldon salt, for sure. These cupcakes are a work of art!
Thank you, Gloria! That Maldon salt is one of my new favorite things. 🙂
Wow, color me impressed! Me with salted caramel frosting – dangerous. 😉
We have a ton of birthdays in August, do I get being sweeter out. These would be my exception though; they look delicious!
I definitely made an exception for these.
Marcie, these look amazing!! I love this frosting! Pinned!! 🙂
I’m never tired of sweets! And I wan to face plant in that frosting!
Haha…thanks, Dorothy!
Even when I’m tired of sweets, if a sweet and salty cupcake is put in front of me, I’m going to eat it. Haha. Thanks, Kelly!
Mmmm you had me at salted caramel!! What great looking cupcakes!
Thank you, Ashley!
Thank you, dear, and everyone loved them!
Salted caramel and chocolate has to be one of the best combinations ever! I love the sweet and salty flavor, and you can’t go wrong with a cupcake. Beautiful pics, Marcie!
Sweet and salty is the best, isn’t it?! Thanks so much, Ashley! 🙂
i love these flavors together. yum!
Me, too! Thanks, Dina.
Thank you, Diana! I will certainly check out your blog. 🙂
Oh my gosh Marcie, these look amazing. I love chocolate, caramel and sea salt together and I’m sure everyone loved them. Pretty pictures too – pinning!
Thank you, Deb! It’s a winning combination that you just can’t go wrong with.
Okay, I must have these soon! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
Thank you for hosting, Karly! 🙂
These are gorgeous Marcie!! And that frosting has me drooling!! 🙂
Thank you, Jocelyn! The frosting was my favorite part. 🙂
As soon as I read “salted caramel” I’m hooked. These cupcakes look SO amazing, Marcie! I am impressed to no end by the elaborate and beautiful things you make in your kitchen!
Thank you so much, Andi! I was a little behind getting into the salted caramel craze, so I’m making up for lost time! 🙂 Have a great rest of the weekend.
This is a great concept! Did you find that the cupcakes turned out more dense than you might have liked? I tried using the cupcake recipe to use with a peanut butter mousse center that I made and found that the cupcakes came out far more dense and fluffy than your pictures look! Any advice on what might have gone wrong? Any possibility that baking soda might help give the batter some lift?
Hello, Anjali! The best way to lighten up cupcakes is to cream the butter and sugar longer — sometimes even up to 5 minutes. This really adds air, which helps create a lighter cupcake. Also, the less you stir the mixture once the flour is added, the better, as over mixing will result in a heavier cupcake. I hope that helps you — let me know if you have any further questions!
Hi, making a test batch for a wedding reception today, and noticed that in the frosting instructions you say to “add mik”, there is no milk in the list of ingredients for the frosting. I’ve got about an hour before I’ll be ready to frost…may you please clarify this instruction ASAP? Thank you!
Hi, Heather! I’m so sorry I forgot to include that! It’s only 1/2 teaspoon of milk just to thin it out a bit. I hope you enjoy these!
Hi There,
I love the look of these! Being from New Zealand I am unsure as to how much a stick of butter is – can you give me a weight?
Thanks so much 🙂
Janey
Hi, Janey! Yes, one stick of butter is 4 ounces. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
I am going to try out this recipe on the weekend. I think my kids will love it. Me too!
I hope you enjoy it!