Attention caramel lovers! We've got the perfect treat for you! Meet these chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel filling & salted caramel whipped cream. Decadent. Rich. Fudgy. Oh, and did I mention they are incredibly moist!! One bite and you get an intense chocolate flavour. And how can we forget the most incredible salted caramel sauce and a creamy salted caramel whipped cream! They are best for fall/autumn but can be made all year round.

Now, if you are like me & my daughter, looking for the perfect caramel recipe to satisfy your fall/autumn cravings, then you are in the right place! All you need in your life right now is these super moist & rich chocolate cupcakes filled with a homemade salted caramel sauce and topped with the most delicious salted caramel whipped cream. 

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And let's face it, chocolate and caramel make a deadly combo, right? There's nothing better than this epic duo of deliciousness! And to top it all off, you have a silky, smooth, and creamy salted caramel whipped cream frosting. I'm pretty sure they'll become your absolute favourite thing to make and you'll love them as passionately as my daughter & I do!

Why You Will Love These Chocolate Cupcakes?

• Easy to make: They are very easy to make with a handful of ingredients.
• Incredibly moist and decadent: These cupcakes are super moist and soft! They taste even better with the caramel filling.
• Chocolate and caramel is the most perfect combination to ever exist! They make an irresistible combo. Great for fall but you can make it at any time of the year.

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Now you don't wanna be missing out on these, do you? So without further ado let's get right into it! 

What You'll Need To Make These Amazing Cupcakes

These cupcakes consist of three components:

1. Chocolate cupcakes
2. Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce 
3. Salted caramel whipped cream
   

1. INGREDIENTS FOR CHOCOLATE Cupcakes 

Only a handful of basic ingredients are required to make them.

• Vegetable oil: Oil keeps them soft and moist even when cold. I used sunflower cooking oil, you can use any vegetable oil.
• Eggs: Eggs should be at room temperature. They give structure to them as they make them fluffy rather than crumbly.
• Granulated sugar and brown sugar: I used both granulated sugar and light brown sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness and light brown sugar adds softness and moisture. You can use brown sugar instead of light brown sugar.
• All purpose flour: Measure your flour accurately to get the best results.
• Vanilla extract: Adds flavour
• Baking powder & baking soda: Both are used as a leavening agent, which means they cause the cupcakes to rise.
• Cocoa powder: Always use good quality cocoa powder, it makes the difference. Be sure to use unsweetened cocoa powder. It gives a deep and rich chocolate flavour.
• Coffee: It is totally optional but believe me it gives a rich and deep flavour of chocolate as it makes them intensely chocolatey.
• Buttermilk: Buttermilk is an important part of baking. The acids in the buttermilk activate the baking soda and make the cupcakes light and fluffy. Store-bought is the best but if you don’t have it in hand, then you can make it at home. It’s very simple to make with just two ingredients. Take 1/2 cup milk (at room temperature) and add 1 1/2 tsp of lemon juice. Set aside for 10 minutes before adding to the batter.
• Hot water: Hot water reacts with cocoa powder and brings out the chocolate cocoa flavour. It enhances the chocolatey flavour so you can enjoy a more intense flavour of chocolate.

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2. INGREDIENTS FOR SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE

• Granulated sugar: When sugar caramelises, it gives signature colour and flavour to the caramel sauce.
• Water: Add some water to the sugar in the beginning, it helps the sugar to dissolve easily and prevents it from burning. Water also helps in even heat distribution.
• Heavy cream/double cream: Cream keeps the caramel silky and smooth. Always use warm cream because cold cream causes the hot sugar to clump.
• Unsalted butter: Butter makes sauce rich, creamy and flavourful. Always use good quality butter.
• Pink Himalayan salt/or table salt: Pink salt is the best but if you don’t have it, you can use table salt. Salt balances the sweetness out because this caramel sauce is very sweet.
• Vanilla extract: Add flavour to the caramel sauce.
  

3. INGREDIENTS FOR SALTED CARAMEL WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING

If you get tired of your usual American buttercream frosting, as it is way too sweet, then this frosting recipe is for you. It is not too sweet and the texture is as smooth as silk. You can pipe it easily.

• Whipping cream: It is best to use whipping cream or 35% cream (double cream) because any cream less than 35% fat content will not whip. Whipping cream gives a smooth and creamy texture to this frosting.
• Salted caramel sauce: I added homemade salted caramel sauce to the whipped cream. It gives an amazing flavour to the whipped cream and makes the frosting silky and smooth. Caramel sauce is super easy to make at home but if you don’t have it in hand, you can use store-bought. I would still recommend making your own caramel sauce since homemade is the best!
• Vanilla extract: Adds flavour
• Corn flour/ Corn starch: A little amount of cornflour/corn starch helps to stabilise the whipping cream so you can make it a day in advance.

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How To Make These Cupcakes Step By Step

These cupcakes are very easy to make, the results are amazing every time and you have got yourself a winner.

Let's make them step by step!

STEP 1: CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES 

• Preheat the oven and add cupcakes liners to a 12 cup muffin tin.
• Sift the all-purpose flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl then whisk together. Set aside.
• Add 1/2 tsp instant coffee into the hot water and mix well until completely dissolved. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, add the eggs, beat for a minute on medium. Add sugar+ vanilla extract then beat them for at least — 2 minutes or until light in colour and fluffy. Add vegetable oil and beat again to mix it well. Make sure to scrape the bowl down.
• Add in dry ingredients and buttermilk, alternate these 2 ingredients, start with dry ingredients and end on dry ingredients, beat on low after each addition until just combined (avoid over mixing). Scrape the bowl down.
• Add in the hot water+coffee mixture very slowly little by little and gently mix after each addition until combined. Avoid adding the hot water at once otherwise, you will end up with scrambled eggs.
• The batter will be very thin, but don’t worry because it will bake into amazingly moist cupcakes. Pour this batter into a measuring jug and distribute the batter evenly into the cupcakes liners. Remember, fill the cupcakes liners 2/3 the way full. You can also use an ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake liner. Tap the muffin tin on the kitchen counter to remove the bubbles.

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• Bake in the preheated fan oven at 155C/311F for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
• Let the cupcakes cool inside the muffin tin for 10-15 minutes then transfer them on a wire rack to cool completely.

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STEP 2: SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE:

• Put the sugar into a deep heavy-bottom saucepan. Pour water over it, then let it sit at least for 1-2 minutes before cooking as it helps the sugar to dissolve.
• Cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved (don’t stir)
• Use a wet pastry brush to gently wipe any sugar crystals off the side of the pan to prevent crystallisation.
• Once all the sugar is dissolved, put a lid on your saucepan and cover the pot for 3-5 minutes or until the sugar starts to change its colour. This helps to dissolve the sugar crystals on the side of the pan (This step prevents your caramel from crystallisation).
• When the sugar starts bubbling, Increase the heat to medium and continue to cook. A glass lid is excellent because you can see the development of your caramel. Just take a peek after every minute (don’t stir, instead gently swirl the pan occasionally).
• When the sugar starts to change its colour (amber), you can take the lid off completely.
• Let syrup boil at medium heat until it turns into a deep amber colour with a few wisps of smoke (don’t stir, gently swirl your pan occasionally). Then immediately remove the pan from heat.
• Carefully add the warm double cream and whisk carefully as the mixture will bubble up and can splutter. Add butter, vanilla extract and salt. Stir until smooth.
• Put it back on low heat for 30 sec. Keep stirring until caramel is smooth (approx. time for the entire process is 10 minutes)
• You can pass the caramel through a strainer to remove any lumps of sugar.                     
  

STEP 3: SALTED CARAMEL WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING 

• Chill the mixing bowl. Pour chilled whipping cream into the chilled bowl, add corn starch/cornflour and whip until slightly firm peaks form (or just starts to thicken)
• Add vanilla extract and salted caramel sauce (should be at room temperature), continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
• Now add 2-4 tbsp whipping cream and fold gently with a spatula. This step helps to make the frosting more silky and smooth.
• You can easily double or triple the ingredients for a large batch but this measurement is enough for 12 cupcakes. You can make it a day in advance.

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How To Assemble The Cupcakes?

Cut out the middle part of cooled cupcakes by using any medium-sized piping nozzle or a small knife. Fill the middle part of the cupcakes with salted caramel sauce (at room temperature). Fill the piping bag fitted with any nozzle of your choice. I used here 1 M piping nozzle. Make swirls of frosting onto the cupcakes. Drizzle some caramel sauce on top of these cupcakes with a spoon and you are done!

Enjoy straight away or keep them in the fridge for 15-30 minutes to enjoy cold cupcakes.

Recipe Tips To Get Super Moist Cupcakes

1. Measure your flour correctly to get the best results. The best way to measure the flour is by using a digital scale but if you don’t have one, spoon and level your flour carefully. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level the flour.

2. Don’t overfill the cupcake liners to get the proper top. Only fill 2/3 full otherwise they will overflow and make a muffin top.

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3. Cakes are usually baked at 180C in a conventional oven / 165C-170C in Fan oven but you need to reduce the oven temperature by 10-15C especially in fan ovens while baking cupcakes;

• to get the flat tops
• to get perfectly baked cupcakes
• to avoid burning

4. Always whip chilled whipping cream and add 1 tsp corn starch/corn flour for 1 cup whipping cream. It helps to stabilise the whipped cream even you can make it a day in advance.

At the end of making frosting, add 2-4 whipping cream and fold gently. This step helps to make the frosting more silky and smooth.

5. Salted caramel should be at room temperature. You can make caramel sauce a day in advance and keep it in the fridge in an airtight container. It thickens up as it cools. Before mixing in the frosting, just microwave for a few seconds and set aside to cool down slightly.

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Can I Make Them in Advance?

You can bake them one day in advance but keep them in an airtight container. They will stay fresh and moist. You can make caramel sauce in advance and keep it in the fridge in an airtight container. It thickens up as it cools so just microwave for a few seconds and set aside for a few minutes to cool down slightly.

You can make the frosting a day in advance but keep it in an airtight container. Before assembling the cupcakes, if the frosting looks grainy or separated, you will have to give it a short whip and it will be good.

How Can I Store These Cupcakes?

These cupcakes remain moist and fresh for up to 3-4 days in the fridge if you keep them in an airtight container. You can also freeze them without frosting for up to 1-2 months. Separately wrap in cling wrap then keep them in a zip lock bag and freeze. Take out to thaw for 1 hour to bring them to room temperature before decorating them.

Now that I have shared everything, I hope that you'll try this recipe and you'll love them as much as my family and I do! If you make this recipe then be sure to tag @kaotickrunch on instagram. We'd love to see your creations!

Happy Baking!