Caramel Cupcakes

Prep: 15 mins | Bake: 12-15 mins | Decorate: 10 mins

It’s hard to find something that can compete with the rich and luxurious flavour of caramel.

What do you think of when someone says caramel? Salted caramel. Silky caramel in a chocolate bar. Caramel apples. The possibilities are endless. It goes with so many things, making it the perfect ingredient to get to grips with in order to elevate your dessert game.

These caramel cupcakes are an ideal sweet treat to satisfy your sweet cravings. And you never know, you might have more will power than me to even share them! So why not give it a go at baking this delicious caramel cupcake recipe.

Tips for caramel cupcakes

Choosing the right ingredients

For caramel cupcakes, you want to indulge in a fluffy cake with a gooey caramel surprise in the centre. That’s what make this cake perfect for any occasion or just as a treat for yourself.

Unlike your standard cupcake or cake recipe which uses equal quantities of eggs, butter, sugar and flour, this recipe is a labour of love with high rewards.

• Extra virgin olive oil. Considered the least processed form of oil, extra virgin olive oil keeps its natural antioxidants and vitamins, which are usually lost during the process of other oils. It can be a little more expensive than other oil or butter, however extra virgin olive oil contains beneficial fatty acids and are help reduce inflammation.

• Unrefined sugars. This recipe calls for two types of sugar for the best flavour, and you can choose unrefined options like the ones I list in the recipe: light brown sugar and golden caster sugar by Billington’s. Unrefined sugars retain more of the natural colour and flavour, helping to elevate your bake to another level.

Delicious Caramel Cupcakes!

Type: Cupcakes

Author: Thea Bakes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Bake Time: 12-15 minutes

Decorate Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 12

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

• 80ml extra virgin olive oil
• 100g light brown sugar
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 200g self-raising flour
• 1tsp baking soda

For caramel frosting

• 3tbsp Carnation caramel
• 400g icing sugar (sifted)

Method

Making caramel cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 180ºc and line muffin tin with cupcake cases (you can use muffin cases if you prefer a larger cupcake per serving).

Whisk together the olive oil (80ml), light brown sugar (100g) and golden caster sugar (100g) until combined and a thicker-than-oil texture

Break in 2 eggs and beat until fully combined.

Sift and then fold in the flour (200g) and baking soda (1tsp) and then evenly distribute the cupcake mixture into each cupcake case

Bake in the centre of the oven of 12-15 minutes. This can really vary depending on your oven, so keep an eye on it once it gets to 12 minutes. Tip: don’t make the mistake of opening the oven before their (at least almost) cooked as this can make them sink!

Allow to cool for 10 minutes, before transferring the cupcakes from the cupcake tray to a cooling wire rack.

To decorate

Measure out the caramel (3tbsp) and gradually sift in the icing sugar 100g at time, beating with a wooden spoon or beating attachment on a stand mixer.

Once fully combined, you can start to frost each cupcake in any style you’d like. However, I find that this frosting texture is perfect for using a palette knife to spread the frosting on top.

Using a palette knife: Add a good amount of frosting on top of the cupcake (likely to need a minimum of 2tbsp). Then take your palette knife and start to spread the frosting from the centre to the outer rim of the cupcake’s top. You can make this flat, or get more technical by creating a swirl with the palette knife by trialling out varying pressures to get the essential grooves. Try and have fun with this! Luckily frosting is very forgiving, so you can always scrape it off to try again, or just eat it because it will still be very yummy.

Notes:

• These brownies will last for 4+ days at room temperature or in the fridge.

• You can freeze caramel brownies for 3+ months.

• I use this square baking tin

• You can use white granulated sugar instead of golden granulated, but Billington’s golden granulated sugar takes these brownies to another level.

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