Caramel Cream Cupcakes

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With a brown sugar cupcake, cream filling, and caramel buttercream frosting, these Caramel Cream Cupcakes are as sweet and delicious as the candy they were inspired by!

Why You’ll Love These Caramel Cream Cupcakes

• Something fun and different. Perhaps one of my favorite things about these caramel cream cupcakes is just how fun and different they are. They’re not a basic cupcake flavor and people are always surprised when they see the yummy cream filling inside.
• Inspired by the candy. I love the caramel cream candies that these cupcakes are made after. These obviously don’t taste exactly like the candy – they are cupcakes after all – but the caramel and cream filling are such an amazing combination that brings in the same flavors of caramel and cream.
• The frosting! The caramel buttercream has a little bit different method than your average caramel buttercream. Rather than basically making a vanilla buttercream and adding caramel sauce to it, caramel is made and then turned into a buttercream. It brings a stronger caramel flavor to the buttercream that I love.

Recipe Ingredients

Here’s an overview of what you’ll need to make these caramel cream cupcakes. You can find the exact measurements in the recipe card below.

Brown Sugar Cupcakes

• All-purpose flour – Be sure to measure it correctly to avoid dry or dense cake. I always recommend a food scale, but the spoon and level method also works.
• Baking powder & baking soda – The combination gives the best rise and tender texture.
• Salt – Without a little salt, your cupcakes would be bland.
• Unsalted butter – You’ll use it melted. I like to use unsalted and add my own salt to control the saltiness.
• Light brown sugar – Adds the rich brown sugar flavor to these cupcakes.
• Vanilla extract
• Eggs – Be sure to use large eggs, not medium or extra large.
• Sour cream – Sour cream helps to make these cupcakes extra moist, more so than using just milk.
• Milk – I recommend using 2% or whole milk.

Caramel Frosting

• Unsalted butter
• Light brown sugar – You’ll wan to stick with brown sugar for this recipe. White sugar won’t give the same result.
• Heavy cream – Stick with heavy cream. It’s used in the sauce and for creating the buttercream. Milk doesn’t have as much fat and will thin it out too quickly. Heavy cream also adds more creaminess.
• Powdered sugar – Powdered sugar helps to add volume to the frosting.
• Caramel cream candies – The final garnish for these caramel cream cupcakes.

Cream Filling

• Vegetable shortening – Shortening helps to create a light, fluffy cream filling and keeps the color white.
• Powdered sugar – Helps to sweeten and stabilize the filling.
• Vanilla – Gives the filling it’s flavor.
• Water

How To Make Caramel Cream Cupcakes

These delightful caramel cream cupcakes have several different elements, each with a handful of steps. But I promise they’re worth the effort! Be sure to check the recipe card below for the printable instructions.

Bake the cupcakes

• Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F and add liners to the cupcake pan.
• Prep dry ingredients. Whisk together the dry ingredients.
• Combine wet ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Add the eggs and combine, then add the sour cream and combine, and then the milk whisk it all together.
• Combine it all. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until everything is combined.

• Bake. Fill the cupcake liners a little more than ¾ full. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Place on a cooling rack to cool.

Make the frosting

• Make the caramel. Melt the butter in a medium pan. Add the brown sugar and heavy cream. Whisk constantly over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, pour into a bowl, and cool to room temperature. It will be crumbly and dry when you stir it at room temperature.

• Make the frosting. Mix the caramel with 2 cups of powdered sugar until well combined. Mixture will be crumbly. Add 4 tablespoons of heavy cream and mix until well combined. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until combined. At this point, it should be a little dry but not as crumbly. Add the remaining heavy cream as needed to get the right frosting consistency.

Make the filling

• Combine the ingredients. Beat the shortening until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and water. Mix until well combined and smooth.

Put the cupcakes together

• Fill the cupcakes. Use a cupcake corer to remove the centers from the cooler cupcakes. Fill each one with a tablespoon of filling.
• Add the frosting. Pipe the caramel buttercream on each cupcake. I used the Ateco tip 809. If you need more guidance, check out my tutorial for frosting cupcakes.
• Add the candy. Top each cupcake with a caramel cream candy.

A Note On Making The Buttercream

There are two ways to go about making the buttercream. In the previous version of the buttercream, you’d make the buttercream while the caramel was still warm. Now, the recipe is written so that you wait for the caramel to cool first. You can do it either way. But, the problem with making the buttercream while the caramel is warm is that as it cools, it’ll firm up. So, you may need to add more cream later. If you wait until the caramel cools, the texture seems a little funny at first (since it gets crumbly), but once you’re done making it, you’re done. The texture won’t change later because the caramel is already cool. So either way works. Letting the caramel cool first is just a little simpler.

Tips for Success

• Measure the flour correctly. Over-measuring flour for this cake can make it dry. Check out this tutorial on How to Measure Flour Correctly to learn more.
• No over-mixing. As you combine the cupcake ingredients, be sure to mix just until the ingredients are fully incorporated.
• Don’t overfill the cupcake liners. Fill the cupcake liners to just over 3/4 full – if you fill them completely full they will overflow in the oven.
• Make the frosting in advance. The one thing to keep in mind is that if the sugar doesn’t fully dissolve while cooking the caramel, the frosting can be a little grainy at first. After sitting for a day – give or take – the grainy-ness disappears though, so this is definitely something you can make ahead.
• Make the caramel on medium heat. To try and be sure the sugar all dissolves, cook over medium (or even medium low) heat. You don’t want to crank up the heat to make the sugar melt faster or it may not melt fully.

Proper Storage

The caramel cream cupcakes should be stored in an air-tight container. They are fine at room temperature for about 24 hours but then should be refrigerated. Serve at room temperature. Cupcakes are best if eaten within 3-4 days.

To freeze the cupcakes, flash freeze them for an hour, then wrap them in plastic wrap. You could also add them to a ziplock back or air-tight container, for an extra layer of protection. Thaw them in the fridge before serving.

More Cupcake Recipes To Try

• Creme Brulee Cupcakes
• Pecan Pie Cupcakes
• Caramel Apple Cupcakes
• Red Velvet Cupcakes
• Nutella Cupcakes
• Cinnamon Sugar Swirl Cupcakes

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