It’s no wonder cupcakes are the never ending trend of cute baking, it’s a personal cake with extra frosting! They are so easy to make, have a stunning look and you can personalize them easily with so many frosting options. I have a few go-to cupacake combinations, and these salted caramel and cinnamon maple pecan cupcakes are a very popular one on my short list.
Since I treat cupcakes like a piece of art when it comes to taste and appearance, I try to plan the taste combinations and make a quick sketch of what a new cupcake is going to look like. From there on I focus on making sure it delivers the message I’m looking for – Yummmmmmmm!
I mean, chocolate and salted caramel is just always a winner, these moist chocolate cakes make the ultimate classic chocolate cupcake, tender with a good structure. After experimenting with a lot of recipes out there I ended up sticking to the Cupcake Project’s winner for the Ultimate Chocolate Cupcake. They totally deserve the title.
Assembling
The chocolate cupcake is filled with a creamy, home-made salted caramel sauce and topped with a salted caramel Swiss meringue buttercream. I really prefer Swiss buttercream as it’s not as sweet as American buttercream and very smooth. To bring some crunch to it, add cinnamon maple roasted pecans (roasted quickly in a skillet) and sprinkle them on top, with a generous drizzle of caramel sauce. When I have time, I decorate these with some sugar decorations too.
What is your favorite cupcake flavor? Leave a comment and let me know! ❤
- 60g unsalted butter
- 225g Sugar
- 60g Dark Chocolate
- 2 Large eggs, room temperature
- 2 Large egg yolks, room temperature
- 133ml Vegetable oil
- 2 Tsp Vanilla extract
- 80g Sour cream
- 145g All purpose flour
- 60g Cocoa poweder
- ½ Tsp Salt
- ½ Tsp baking soda
- 118ml milk
- 200 grams granulated sugar
- 90 grams unsalted butter at room temp (cut into cubes)
- 120ml (1/2 cup) heavy cream
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 5 Large egg whites
- 240 grams sugar
- 325 grams unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into cubes
- 125grams unsalted/unroasted pecan halves
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (pure)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt salt
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- Preheat oven to 180 ° C
- In a mixer bowl with whisk attachment, mix together butter and sugar until you get a sandy texture.
- Pulse melt the chocolate in a microwave or Baine Marie. When cooled down a bit, add to the mixer bowl and mix until combined
- Mix in eggs and yolks, one at a time, making sure each is just combined between additions
- Add oil, vanilla and sour cream, mix until it just comes together (don't over mix)
- In a seperate bowl, combine sifted flour,baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Make sure it's all mixed well and add the dry mix in three additions to the mixing bowl.
- Add the milk and mix until just combined
- Fill in cupcake liners ⅔ full and bake in the oven for about 14 minutes. Check with a toothpick inserted to the middle of the cupcake, aim for a dry yet still crumbly.
- Let cool for 2 minutes and remove to a cooling rack, allow to cool completely before frosting
- Line a sheet with parchment paper
- In a bowl, mix together cinnamon, sugar, maple syrup, and pinch of salt.
- heat a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, add oil and the sugar mixture. Stir until completely melted
- Add pecans and increase heat to medium. Stir pecans thoroughly allowing all to be evenly coated. Let the pecans cook in the mixture for 3-5 minutes until they are completely covered, keep a close eye to avoid burning.
- Remove from heat and transfer to parchment paper
- Cool completely and chop in small pieces with a big knife
- Heat sugar in a big saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon
- The sugar will starts clumping and slowly melt into a thick amber-colored liquid. Make sure to continue to the next step immediately when it gets to this color, over cooking will result in a bitter taste.
- Once the sugar is melted completely, carefully add the butter and stir it in until it's completely melted and combined in the sauce (you may want to use a whisk here to blend it in more easily)
- In a slow stream, add the cream in three additions while continuously stirring, do this carefully, the hot sugar reacts to the lower cream temperature and bubbles up.
- Keep boiling the caramel sauce for an extra minute or two and remove from heat. Stir in the salt and let cool down completely before using. Keep refrigerated in a jar for up to two weeks.
- I divided this into two batches to fit my mixer:
- Combine egg whites and sugar in a heat proof bowl and set over a pan of slowly simmering water. Whisk continuously by hand until mixture is warm and sugar has dissolved completely. Test by rubbing some between two fingers and assuring there are no grains.
- Transfer to a mixer bowl with a whisk attachment and whisk starting on low and slowly increasing to medium-high. Whisk until glossy and fluffy with high peaks. About 7-10 minutes. Touch the bottom of the bowl to make sure it's not warm before continuing to the next step.
- Reduce mixer to medium-low speed and add the butter, few tablespoons at a time. Mix well after each addition. If after all the butter has been added it breaks into a fluid mixture with the butter separating (looks like cottage cheese), increase the speed to high and mix until it comes together.
- Add 1 cup of cooled salted caramel and mix half a minute longer. Set aside.
- Use an apple corer or large pipping tip to make a hole in each cupcake, fill with caramel sauce
- Use a big closed star pipping tip to pipe the caramel butter cream and garnish with pieces of pecans. Drizzle some caramel sauce on top. Because you can.
- Serve at room temperature
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