Caramel Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream

Can we just make cupcakes a thing again? Please?

I looooove cupcakes. Making them, decorating them, eating them.... love them. I'm not sure when they started to lose popularity but it's just wrong. I mean... it's cake you can hold in your hand, what's not perfect about that? Let's bring the cupcake back to its top-of-the-dessert-chain place; where it deserves to be. #cupcakesarethebest

These caramel cupcakes take about 5 minutes to make, 20 minutes to bake, and then the frosting takes about 5 minutes. Nothing complicated. Great for those just starting in the kitchen or for those who have had a lot of practice and just want something easy. There is no down side to cupcakes. 

Caramel Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream

Ingredients

Cupcakes

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups dark brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp caramel extract

1 cup buttermilk

Buttercream

2 cups butter, softened

1 cup dark brown sugar

4  - 5 cups icing sugar

1/2 tsp caramel extract

2 - 3 Tbsp milk 

Decoration

caramel candies

Directions

Prepare cupcakes - Preheat oven to 350. Place paper cupcake liners in 24 muffin cups. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. 

In a larger bowl, beat butter until creamy. Beat in the sugars until smooth, scraping bowls as needed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and the caramel extract. 

Alternately beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with the buttermilk. 

Scoop into the 24 lined muffin cups. Bake at 350 until toothpicks inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 20 - 25 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely. 

Prepare buttercream - In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth. Beat in the brown sugar, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Slowly beat in the icing sugar until fully incorporated. Beat in the caramel extract and as much milk as needed to make the frosting a spreading/piping consistency. Pipe onto the cupcakes as desired. There is enough frosting to pipe a full swirl on each cake - you will have extra if you only spread some on top with a knife. 

Cupcakes are just too fancy schmancy to fall to the bottom of the dessert pile. 

Look how pretty they are. 

In the box are our Lemon Cupcakes with Fresh Blueberry Buttercream (Recipe HERE), Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting (Cake recipe HERE), and Caramel Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream. 

These go like crazy at bake sales, FYI. Aaaaaaand they make lovely gifts for friends and neighbors! 

NOTE - This recipe makes 24 - 28 cupcakes. I made 24 regular sized and then 12 mini cupcakes from one batch. 

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