I love to take something that isn’t food and turn it into an amazing dish. I love caramel macchiatos and it occurred to me that it would be the perfect variation of a cupcake. This espresso cupcake is topped with caramel buttercream and a caramel drizzle for one delectable take on this popular drink. 

Makes 15 cupcakes

Ingredients:

  For the Salted Caramel:

1 Cup (200g) Granulated Sugar

6 Tbs (90g) Softened Unsalted Butter cut into 6 pieces

½ Cup(120mL) Heavy Cream, Room Temperature

1 Tsp (4g) Sea Salt 

  For the cupcakes:

1 Cup (200g) Granulated Sugar

1 ¾ Cup (225g) Cake Flour

1 ½ Tsp (6g) Baking Powder

½ Tsp (2g) Baking Soda

½ Tsp (2g) Salt

2 Tsp (5g) Espresso Powder 

4 Tbs (57g) Softened Unsalted Butter

¼ Cup (60mL) Vegetable Oil

2 Large Eggs, Room Temperature 

2 Tsp (8g) Vanilla Extract

1 Cup (240mL) Buttermilk, Room Temperature 

  For the Buttercream

1 ¼ Cups (283g) Softened Unsalted Butter

¼ Tsp (1g) Salt

2 Tsp (8g) Vanilla Extract

1/3 Cup (80mL) of the salted caramel sauce 

2 ½ Cups (325g) Confectioner’s Sugar

Directions:

1.     Preheat your oven to 350 Degrees F (180C) and line two cupcake pans with paper liners. 

2.     In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder with a whisk until well mixed. 

3.     Add the butter and beat until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then add the oil, eggs, and vanilla and mix until combined.

4.     Add the buttermilk and mix on a low speed until the batter just comes together, don’t overmix. Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 of the way full and bake for 12-15 minutes, until the cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. 

5.     For the frosting, beat the butter on high speed for a few minutes until very light, then add the caramel, vanilla, and salt and beat again until combined. 

6.     Add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time, mixing in each addition before adding the next. Stop adding sugar when the frosting is your desired level of sweetness. 

7.     Pipe the frosting on top of each cupcake and drizzle some caramel sauce on top.