A classic flavor combo for when you need to celebrate someone special, or for when you just want some really good cupcakes.
By Chris Scheuer
Vanilla Cupcakes with Caramel Icing
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 30 cupcakes 1x
Description
A classic flavor combo for when you need to celebrate someone special, or for when you just want some really good cupcakes.
Ingredients
Scale
Cupcake
- 1 ¾ cup cake flour
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cup sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, not softened but remove from refridg and allow to warm for about 15 minutes
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean extract , or 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped out
- Caramel Butter Cream, recipe below
Caramel Buttercream
- 1 stick (4 ounces) butter, melted
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 6–8 tablespoons whole milk or half and half cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean split in half and beans scraped out
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 1 2-pound bag powdered sugar
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with 30 cupcake liners.
- Place the first five ingredients in the bowl of stand mixer and stir together for one minute using paddle attachment.
- With mixer on low, drop in butter, a few cubes at a time continuing until all butter is in and mixer resembles coarse sand.
- Add eggs one at a time on low speed. With mixer still on low, slowly pour in milk and vanilla. Turn mixer to medium and beat for 2 minutes until batter is smooth, scraping sides of bowl as needed.
- Scoop batter into cupcake liners filling cups 1/2 to 2/3 full. Do not be tempted to overfill. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until centers are set and toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Caramel Buttercream
- Combine melted butter, brown sugar and 4 tablespoons half and half in a large microwave-safe bowl. Stir well to combine.
- Place in microwave and cook on high power for 2-3 mintues or until mixture is furiously bubbling. Watch carefully to make sure it does not boil over.
- Remove from microwave and set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, place softened butter and powdered sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Start with mixer on low speed and mix for 1 minute. Increase speed to medium and mix for another minute or two. Add vanilla and cooled brown sugar/butter mixture and mix for 5 minutes. Add more half and half, as needed to make a smooth, creamy frosting.
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Dessert
I love baking this recipe. I’ve been searching for a recipe that reminds me of my grandmother’s cupcakes and these do it for me. The cupcakes are so delicate and the batter was light and fluffy. I knew they would be great before putting them into the oven. They are now my go to cupcakes. The first time I made them for my son’s 2nd birthday party. I colored the icing turquoise and added shark inserts for his shark party. I just made them again with a light yellow frosting for a baby party at work. Now i just need to practice decorating like the ones pictured in this recipe.