Salted Caramel Cupcakes with Light Brown Sugar Sponge and Caramel Filling
By Liam Carter
Prep
40 min
Cook
20 min
Total
60 min
Servings
12
Creaming butter with light brown sugar traps air in the batter, helping these Salted Caramel Cupcakes bake into a light sponge rather than a heavy crumb. Each cupcake is filled with salted caramel sauce and finished with salted caramel buttercream, chopped fudge, and a final sauce drizzle.
The batter uses butter, light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and self raising flour. Light brown sugar supplies the caramel note in the sponge, while the flour supplies the raising agent called for in the recipe. After the baked cakes are cored, salted caramel sauce becomes the hidden centre. Butter, icing sugar, salted caramel flavouring, and milk make the smooth topping; the notes also offer caramel sauce in place of the flavouring.
During baking, golden tops and a clean skewer from the centre signal that the sponge is ready. Let every cupcake cool completely on a rack before making the centre hole, because warm crumb is easier to tear and can make filling untidy. Mix the buttercream until smooth, then pipe or spoon it on. The common misstep is filling or frosting warm cakes, which softens the layers and blurs the finish.
Serve the cupcakes as decorated, with chopped salted caramel fudge and an extra sauce drizzle on top. An Ateco 829 nozzle was used for the pictured piping, though any nozzle works. The recipe directs storing leftovers in an airtight container in a cool place.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Creaming the butter and light brown sugar until fluffy helps trap air, giving the baked sponge a lighter texture than an under-mixed batter.
- Baking until the tops are golden and a centre skewer is clean gives a clear doneness check instead of relying only on timing.
- Cooling the cupcakes completely before coring keeps the sponge from tearing, so the salted caramel filling stays neatly contained in each centre.
- The caramel filling is added after baking, creating a concentrated sauce centre without changing the structure or bake time of the sponge.
- Using an electric mixer makes the buttercream smoother and the cupcakes lighter, according to the recipe, while hand mixing remains an option.
- A final sauce drizzle and chopped salted caramel fudge add contrasting textures, so the soft buttercream is balanced by small chewy pieces.
Ingredients
- •175 g butter or baking spread
- •175 g light brown sugar
- •3 eggs (large)
- •1 tsp vanilla extract
- •175 g self raising flour
- •200 g butter
- •400 g icing sugar
- •2 tsp salted caramel flavouring (Tesco's used)
- •1 tbsp milk
- •200 g salted caramel sauce (good quality shop bought or homemade)
- •75 g salted caramel fudge (optional, chopped up)
Instructions
- 1
Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, and line a cupcake tin with cupcake cases.
- 2
Mix together the butter and light brown sugar, ideally using an electric mixer, until fluffy.
- 3
Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and whisk well.
- 4
Gently whisk in the self raising flour.
- 5
Divide the mixture between the 12 cupcake cases.
- 6
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool completely on a cooling rack.
- 7
Use a cupcake corer or a knife to make a hole in the middle of each cupcake.
- 8
Fill the holes with the salted caramel sauce using a spoon or a small piping bag with the end snipped off.
- 9
Make the buttercream by mixing together the butter and icing sugar, then add the salted caramel flavouring and milk, and mix until smooth.
- 10
Pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake using a piping bag fitted with a nozzle, or spread it on with a spoon.
- 11
Sprinkle the fudge over the top.
- 12
Drizzle over the salted caramel sauce using either a piping bag or a spoon.
- 13
Store in an airtight container in a cool place.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
478
Protein
3g
Fat
27g
Carbs
58g
Reviews
Pin this recipe
Tap an image to save it to Pinterest.
