Sweet and salty caramel sauce balanced the rich, decadent flavors in these Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes. Moist chocolate cupcakes are topped with whipped chocolate buttercream frosting before adding a dollop of gooey golden caramel sauce.
Homemade caramel sauce is easy to make using just a handful of ingredients, but a good quality store-bought caramel would also do.
HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE Caramel CUPCAKES
- Bloom the chocolate - start the cupcake batter by blooming the cocoa powder in hot water or coffee along with chopped chocolate. This will dissolve the cocoa and melt the chocolate. If you don't have hot coffee use hot water and instant coffee or espresso.
- Mix the wet ingredients - whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs, and sour cream.
- Add the dry ingredients - sprinkle in the flour and stir to combine.
- Add the cocoa mix - add the melted chocolate and stir to combine. The batter will be pretty thin.
- Bake the cupcakes
- Meanwhile, make the caramel sauce - it needs to cool to thicken.
- Melt the chocolate - to further enhance the chocolate buttercream, melt a little bit of dark chocolate.
- Whip up the frosting - make the chocolate buttercream. add the melted dark chocolate at the end.
- Decorate! - For the swirl on, scoop buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star tip on the end. Starting in the center of the cupcake, hold the piping bag straight up and pipe a spiral around the cupcake. Take the back of a tablespoon and press into the center of the buttercream to make a small well of frosting.
- Add the caramel - Add a spoon of cooled caramel to the center of each cupcake then drizzle around the side.
How to Make Caramel Sauce
If you're a first-timer, then there are some visual clues you don't want to miss. Take a look at how the sugar transforms during the caramelization process:
Begin cooking plain granulated sugar until it melts.
Stir the sugar every so often so that it melts evenly into a dark golden color.
Carefully add the butter and stir to melt.
Whisk in the cream before finishing with sea salt and vanilla.
Hint: Cook the sugar until it turns a medium amber color. The longer and darker it becomes, the more pronounced the caramel taste will be. Go too far, and the caramel will have a slightly bitter taste.
The caramel sauce will thicken significantly as it cools. Keep refrigerated and reheat as necessary before topping the chocolate caramel cupcakes.
What You Need to Make Caramel Cupcakes
While the easy chocolate cupcake recipe can be stirred together by hand, you will want an electric mixer for the fluffy frosting. A hand or stand mixer are both fine.
This chocolate cupcake recipes uses chopped chocolate that is melted and combine with hot water. Have a tea kettle on stand by or use your morning hot coffee. You will also need a saucepan for making the caramel sauce.
Pipe on swirls of frosting with a piping bag and tip or use an offset spatula or the back of the spoon for a more rustic look.
Ingredients for Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes
The cupcakes are very similar to my Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes. I recommend using coffee in the cake batter, but you can skip it in the frosting to make the caramel shine.
Dutch-processed cocoa powder - the acidity in this type of unsweetened cocoa is neutralized making it ideal for baking.
Dark Chocolate - pick a chocolate bar around 70% cocoa.
Instant espresso powder - this will enhance the chocolate flavor of the cupcakes when added to the batter. It also flavors the buttercream. Instant coffee will also work.
Sour Cream - sour cream offers both acidity and fat that contribute tons of tenderness and moistness to the cupcakes. Substitute with buttermilk or plain yogurt for similar results.
Heavy Cream - you will need this to make the caramel sauce.
Substitutions
Sour Cream - You can swap out the sour cream and milk for equal parts buttermilk. The taste and texture will be comparable. If you opt for a buttermilk substitute (ie milk + vinegar), the end results will likely be slightly off.
Instant Espresso - You can use instant coffee. If you prefer to skip the espresso in the cupcakes, just use plain hot water.
Serving and Storage
Serve cupcakes at room temperature.
Store the chocolate caramel cupcakes at room temperature in a cake box or air-tight container for up to 3 days.
Unfrosted cupcakes may be frozen. Wrap bundles of about 6 cupcakes in plastic wrap then place them in a zip-top bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before frosting.
Store caramel sauce in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks. It will thicken as it cools.
To use, gently reheat in the microwave, 10 to 20 seconds at a time, until desired consistency.
More Recipes to Try
Chocolate Caramel Cupcake Recipe FAQs
No, unfortunately you can’t use natural cocoa powder instead of Dutch-processed. One is acidic while the other is neutral. You could try in a pinch, but understand that it will change the results.
I've used both interchangeably with similar results. For the frosting, star with less. You can also add more coffee flavor.
Recipe
Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cupcakes
- 3 oz dark chocolate chopped
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¾ cup hot water or coffee
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup oil
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup sour cream
For the Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter, diced
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
For the Chocolate Buttercream
- 2 oz dark chocolate melted and cooled
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 to 2 tablespoon milk
Instructions
To Make the Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.
- Place the chopped dark chocolate and cocoa powder in a heat-safe bowl or measuring cup. Pour in the hot water or coffee and stir to combine. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and slat, and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl and hand mixer), mix together the oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until combined. Add in the vanilla then the eggs, mixing in between each one until combined. Finally, add in the sour cream.Add the flour mixture and stir to combine.
- Lastly, add the melted chocolate mixture and stir until combined.
- Using a mechanical ice cream scoop or disher, fill the cupcake liners between ⅔ and ¾ of the way full. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean or with a few crumbs. Completely cool the cupcakes on a wire rack before frosting.
To Make Caramel
- Place the sugar in a large, dry skillet or saucepan. Set over medium-high heat. Cook the sugar until it melts. Stir gently with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to get it started and cooking evenly. Once melted, do not stir. Continue to cook the melted sugar until it turn a medium gold or amber color.
- Remove from the heat and carefully whisk in the butter. Be careful of splatters.
- Whisk in the heavy cream. It may boil up and foam, so be careful.
- Return the skillet to medium heat and cook until thick, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt. Carefully pour into a heat-safe container and cool. Sauce will thicken as it cools.
To Make the Chocolate Buttercream
- Melt the chocolate over a double-boiler or gently in the microwave at half power.
- Use an electric mixer to mix the softened butter until smooth.A dd the powder sugar and cocoa powder. Mix on low until combined. Add the milk and increase the speed and mix until smooth. Increase the speed and mix on medium until fluffy and smooth.
- Add the melted chocolate and mix to combine.
To Decorate
- For the swirl on, scoop buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star tip on the end. Starting in the center of the cupcake, hold the piping bag straight up and pipe a spiral around the cupcake.
- Take the back of a tablespoon and press into the center of the buttercream to make a small well of frosting.
- Add a spoon of cooled caramel to the center of each cupcake then drizzle around the side.
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