These salted caramel cinnamon cupcakes are the best fall cupcakes! The cinnamon cupcakes have a middle layer of brown sugar and cinnamon. The salted caramel buttercream is made with fresh salted caramel and drizzled with more caramel! It is like eating fall in a cupcake.
Steps To Make Salted Caramel Cinnamon Cupcakes
These cupcakes are seriously so easy to make! You can make these in 3 easy steps:
- Make cinnamon cupcakes– Follow the simple recipe to make these cupcakes. Follow my tips below to make these cupcakes
- Salted caramel– You can use store bought caramel if you need to. (make sure it isn’t ice cream topping!) However, this salted caramel is super easy to make and worth the time to make it!
- Decorate with buttercream– Use the salted caramel to make the buttercream. Don’t forget to drizzle with extra caramel!
Tips On Making Cinnamon Cupcakes
Here are my tips for making these moist cinnamon cupcakes.
- Make sure all dairy ingredients are room temperature– Room temperature ingredients will get a much better rise. Take them out 1 1/2 hours before baking.
- Cream the butter and sugar together– Use a mixer to aerate the butter for 2 minutes. This helps to get a fluffier cupcake! Start mixing and set a timer to make sure the butter gets nice and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at time– Don’t add the eggs all together. Let each egg mix in before adding the next one.
- Alternate dry ingredients and buttermilk– Alternating the dry ingredients allows for the batter to get thoroughly mixed in.
- Buttermilk substitution– If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use 3/4 cup of milk and 3/4 TBSP of lemon juice. Let it sit for 10 minutes before using.
Scooping And Baking The Cinnamon Cupcakes
Once the cinnamon cupcake batter is ready, use a TBSP and scoop the batter into the muffin tin. Then, sprinkle the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture on top of the batter. Sprinkle generously to get a nice layer!
Next, scoop another TBSP of batter on top of cinnamon mixture. It should be about 3/4th full.
Bake for 18-22 minutes. The muffins should have a nice rise to them.
Let them sit for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. They need to cool completely before decorating.
Easy And Fresh Salted Caramel
When I first thought of making salted caramel from scratch, it seemed so intimidating! It is actually super easy to make! Especially when you follow these steps.
- Butter and heavy cream must be room temperature- 2 hours before making the caramel, pull the butter and heavy cream from the fridge. Cold ingredient can cause the caramel to seize up.
- Make sure everything is ready before starting- Once the sugar is melted, the cooking process goes very quickly. Cut the butter into cubes, have the heavy cream, vanilla, and salt ready.
- Melt the sugar- Make sure to whisk consistently until every sugar crystal is melted. The sugar will clump up at first, but it will melt! It can easily burn if left unattended, so keep an eye on it.
- Let the sugar sit for 30 seconds to turn amber color. This actually takes less than 30 seconds. It can quickly burn at this stage. Watch it like a hawk!! As soon as it is ready, remove it from heat.
- Add half of the dairy ingredients at a time. For both the heavy cream and butter, add half of it at a time. Adding all of the butter or heavy cream all at once will cause the caramel to seize up and clump.
- Allow caramel to cool completely- The caramel cools best in a glass jar, I use a glass measuring cup. Cool it completely before adding to the buttercream. Otherwise it could melt the frosting.
Salted Caramel Buttercream
This is a whipped salted caramel buttercream because it whips with a mixer for 5 minutes. This creates a light and fluffy buttercream. It only needs 3 ingredients, butter, powdered sugar, and salted caramel. That’s it!
First, make sure the butter is slightly cold before using. Place the butter on the counter for 30 minutes before using. This temperature is the best for buttercream.
Next, beat the butter using a mixer for 2 minutes. There should be no butter lumps left. Make sure you scrape the bowl!
Then, add in the sifted powdered sugar. It is very important that the powdered sugar is sifted, otherwise the buttercream can be gritty.
Once the butter and powdered sugar is combined, add in the 1/2 cup of salted caramel. The caramel acts as the heavy cream like in my other buttercream recipes.
Mix the caramel in on low just until it starts to combine. Then, turn the mixer to high and beat for 4 minutes. Then, scrape the bowl and beat it again for 1 minute.
Next, store the buttercream in the fridge for 15 minutes. This helps to solidify the butter again and it is much easier to pipe with.
You may notice all the air bubbles in the frosting. Take a wooden spoon and beat the bubbles out of the frosting by hand. You should be able to hear the bubbles pop in the frosting.
Decorating The Salted Caramel Cinnamon Cupcakes
Now it is time to pipe the buttercream on top of the cupcakes. In these pictures I did a traditional frosting swirl. To be honest, it was a lot of frosting! In general, I like to do a simple rosette on top of my cupcakes. It makes for the perfect amount of frosting.
For these cupcakes I used a wilton 1M tip. I also drizzled with extra salted caramel to up the flavor!
Storing The Salted Caramel Cinnamon Cupcakes
Before you frost the cupcakes, you can store them at room temperature for up to 3 days. Once you frost them, they should go in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Can These Cupcakes Be Frozen?
Yes! They can be frozen. Before you frost them, wrap them individually in cling wrap. Then either wrap in aluminum foil, or place in an air tight container. The cupcakes will last up to 30 days in the freezer.
To thaw the cupcakes, leave them on the counter for 2 hours before you frost the cupcakes.
Other Recipes To Try
Make sure to tag me on Instagram @stephaniesweettreats and leave me a review below if you made these cupcakes. I hope you loved it! To get more ideas follow me on Pinterest.
Salted Caramel Cinnamon Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cinnamon Cupcakes
- 1/4 cup Brown sugar packed light or dark
- 3/4 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup Unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup White granulated sugar
- 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
- 3 Large eggs room temperature
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 2 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 3/4 cup Buttermilk room temperature
Salted Caramel
- 1 cup White granulated sugar
- 5 TBSP Unsalted butter room temperature and cubed
- 1/2 cup Heavy cream room temperature
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pure vanilla extract
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- 2 cups Unsalted butter slightly cold
- 6 cups Powdered sugar sifted
- 1/2 cup Salted caramel
Instructions
Cinnamon Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Using a mixer, beat the butter and white sugar for 2 minutes. The butter should be very light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and mix until combined. Add each egg one at a time. Mix on low until combined.
- Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and 1/2 of the buttermilk and mix until combined. Add in the next 1/3 of the dry ingredients and the rest of the buttermilk. Once combined, add the rest of the dry ingredients. Scrape the bowl and mix for 20 more seconds.
- Use a Tbsp and scoop 1 Tbsp of batter into each cupcake liner. Sprinkle generously with the brown sugar mixture on top of the batter. Fill each cupcake liner until 3/4 full with the cinnamon cupcake batter.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes. The cupcakes are done baking with a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cupcakes sit in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Allow cupcakes to cool completely.
Salted Caramel
- Using a sauce pan over medium heat, melt the sugar. Use a whisk and whisk continuously until all sugar crystals are melted. It will clump up at first, then will melt completely. Once all melted, let it sit for 10-30 seconds until amber in color. This doesn't take long, so watch it carefully. Remove from heat
- Add in half of the cubed butter, whisk until butter is melted. It will be very bubbly. Add the rest of the butter and whisk until melted. Then, add in half of the heavy cream and stir until combined. Add the rest of the heavy and whisk again.
- Add in the vanilla and salt. Pour the salted caramel into a glass measuring jar. Allow to cool completely before using.
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- Pull the butter out of the fridge and onto the counter for 30 minutes. It should be cold to the touch, but you can see your finger indent.
- Using a mixer, beat the butter on medium-high for 2 minutes. The butter should be fluffy with no butter lumps. Slowly add in the sifted powdered sugar until combined. Scrape the bowl.
- Add in the salted caramel. Make sure the caramel is a pourable consistency. If it isn't, heat in the microwave for 10 seconds. Beat the frosting on high for 4 minutes. Scrape the bowl. Then beat for another minute on high.
- Place frosting in the fridge for 15 minutes for the butter to solidify a bit. Then, take a wooden spoon and beat the air bubbles by hand out of the frosting.
- Frost cupcakes and drizzle extra salted caramel on top.
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