Caramel Cupcakes

If you were to ask me, out of the blue, what I was thinking of at any given time, chances are it would not be about cupcakes. Sometimes I think about dips.

We don't actually entertain all that often - having an almost-three-year-old and an eight-month-old makes having grown-ups over a bit difficult, and we're still working on the house to make it company-worthy, inside and out. We will be all set for Halloween, on a positive note. Lots of dead stuff already in the backyard.

But I do think about cupcakes fairly often; usually, what flavor combination to try next. What you may be surprised to learn about me is I don't actually eat sweets very often. I am much more a bread-and-cheese, savory/salty type of girl. But I do love to bake them - and sometimes, I get in a rut.

Chocolate ruts are easy to fall into, and you don't really get a lot of help out of them, either. I still have a Mexican hot chocolate cupcake dancing in my head, and a chocolate-mint one that I can't seem to shake either. However, when in doubt, I turn to others for help, and help I get (once I can pry them out of this chocolate pit we all seem to have jumped into).

Caramel was a request. I like caramel - certainly I don't dislike caramel, but it's something I tend to appreciate if it's there, not a flavor I seek out. I never think, "Golly, what I need right now is a chewy mouthful of caramel." And yet, a dear friend of a dear friend sent over a call, and I turned the idea around and looked at it from a few sides, and you know what? It's a darn good concept.

It's September, people! Time to turn to thoughts of spices and warmer flavors and golden brown and amber (she says, biting her thumb at the 90-degree temperatures forecast all week in Northern California). Let's go with it!

And so here we have a caramel cupcake...but not just that (although you see I'm going for efficiency in my blog title, anyway). This is a moist, not-too-sweet brown sugar cupcake with a chewy little nugget of caramel on the inside, but the real fun is the frosting. It's a Swiss meringue buttercream (which is a new one for me, and I love it), flavored with caramel, and then caramel is drizzled over the top of the whole thing.

Swiss buttercream takes a little more time than your standard powdered sugar buttercream, but it is so worth it. It almost plays like a whipped cream, being light and airy but creamy too, and if you're put off by the "meringue" - don't be. This is nothing like that pie topping you are probably thinking of.

Yes, I made my own caramel. You need to for the recipe, you see. But it isn't hard. And if I can do it, with my attention span, so can you. Two rules of thumb: pay attention and don't touch. If you can manage that you'll be fine. I took pictures so you could get an idea. And if you have a problem with the quality of the photos, please remember that I am making caramel while holding a camera and keeping children away from the stove with a couple of chairs and my own bare feet. So don't judge.

And hey, if you have a cupcake request, request away! I'm game.

The Recipe:

~Brown Sugar Cupcakes~

• 1 1/2 cups  flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (or sour milk - just add 1/2 tbsp. of lemon juice or vinegar to the 1/2 cup of milk and let stand for 5 minutes or so)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin tins with papers. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add vanilla, and continue to mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beat until combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about halfway full. Bake for about 15 - 18 minutes. When done, let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 2 minutes, then remove them from the pan and let them cool completely on a wire rack.

~Chewy Caramel Filling~

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter (just divide it into three tablespoons)
• (generous)1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Melt the sugar over medium high heat in a good-sized, heavy-bottomed pot. Whisk the sugar as it melts and cook until it becomes an amber color. Use your nose! If it smells like it's burning, it has. Start over and lower the heat. Keep your fingers out of this! Add the butter and stir it in until melted. Keep your fingers out of this! Pour in the heavy cream (stand back because the mixture will foam) and whisk until you get a smooth sauce. You may have some lumps; do not panic. Just keep stirring until they have melted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly before filling the cupcakes.

Cook the sugar and wait for something to happen.

Something's happening!

Add the butter. Don't panic. Also, don't touch.

Just about there.

The caramel on the left was the first attempt. Burnt.

Cut a small round piece out of the tops of each cooled cupcake and pour in 1 teaspoon of caramel. Replace the cake piece and set cupcakes aside.

~Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream~ 
(borrowed from How to Eat A Cupcake)


~Caramel Drizzle~

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

~Swiss Buttercream~

• 3 large egg whites, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces, room temperature

For the frosting:
In a heavy-bottomed, high-sided saucepan, cook the sugar over medium heat until it begins to melt around the edges, about 5 minutes. Stirring with a clean wooden spoon, continue to cook until the sugar is melted and has turned golden amber, about 3 minutes longer.

Carefully pour the cream down the side of the pan in a slow, steady stream (it will bubble and spatter), stirring constantly until completely smooth. Don't be alarmed if your sugar forms a huge lumpy pancake. Just stir, gently (you don't want this to splash on you, either), until it's all melted in. Stir in the salt. Pour the caramel into a small ceramic bowl and let cool completely before using. (The caramel can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week; bring to room temperature before using.)

In a large, clean heatproof bowl, combine the egg whites and sugar. Set the bowl over (but not touching) barely simmering water in a saucepan and heat the mixture, whisking constantly, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is very warm to the touch (about 160°F on an instant-read thermometer), 3- 5 minutes. Remove the bowl from the saucepan. Transfer to a stand mixer or, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg white mixture until it is fluffy, cooled to room temperature, and holds stiff peaks (the mixture should not look dry), about 6 minutes.

With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the salt and the butter, a few pieces at a time, beating well after each addition. If the frosting appears to separate or is very liquid after all the butter is added, continue to beat on high speed until it is smooth and creamy, 3-5 minutes more. Add 1/2 cup of the caramel drizzle and beat until combined (or almost combined for a swirling effect).

Chill the cupcakes in the refrigerator and then drizzle more caramel sauce over the tops. Store in the refrigerator.

A river of caramel cascading down a Swiss buttercream mountain...