Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes about 14-16
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp
1-1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 bag of semisweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.
4. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a small sized bowl and whisk to combine.
5. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine
6. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
7. Add the chocolate chips.
8. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 2/3’s full. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Scooping batter into Cupcake tins

Notes:
Using high quality cocoa powder will enhance the cupcakes flavor.
One thing you must be careful of is over-filling the cupcake paper. Stick to 2/3’s full and don’t be tempted to squeeze that last bit of batter into one of the papers.
(Recipe adapted from cupcakeblog.com)

Salted Caramel Filling/Buttercream
1 Stick non-salted butter
1 Stick Salted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 cups powdered sugar
4 table spoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1. In a mixer beat butter until soft, slowly add powder sugar and sea salt until well combined.
2. Combine cream and vanilla nd set aside.
3. In a sauce pan combine sugar, salt and water, and heat on medium high without stirring until the mixture is dark amber. Remove from heat and add cream and vanilla mixture, stirring. Let caramel cool for at least 20 minutes.

Caramel heating on stove

4. Take a small pipping back with a metal tip and fill with some of the caramel. Insert tip into the middle of cupcakes and fill Cupcakes with Caramel. (You do not need very much caramel for this step.)
5. Add remaining caramel to the the butter and powdered sugar mixture. Beat to combine. If the buttercream is too soft to frost, put it in the refridgerator for 10-15 minutes, then frost cool cupcakes.

Caramel added to buttercream