Finally, I made my favourite salted caramel cupcakes again, and had the discipline not to eat them all just so I could take a pretty picture. Well, not really a pretty picture because I was losing sunlight. I made them at the spur of the moment when I realised I had a full jar of salted caramel sauce in the fridge. Too good not to make use of it!
This recipe is a little tricky, I admit. It’s best if you make the salted caramel sauce a day or two ahead of making the cupcakes. Put the sauce in a pretty jar in the fridge and then take them out 2 to 3 hours before you want to frost the cupcakes.
My recipe is a little different because I don’t add the sauce into the cream frosting. I simply drizzle the sauce over the cupcakes because the sweetness is already very strong. You won’t need to add them into the frosting, trust me. I got the sauce recipe from Brown Eyed Baker last year and I’ve stuck to it ever since.
Salted Caramel Sauce
2 cups granulated sugar
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature – I used Red Man whipping cream (from Phoon Huat)
1 tablespoon fleur de sel (or any other flaky sea salt) – I used normal salt, I’m not too particular!
- Heat up a medium sized pot and add the sugar. You would want to keep a close eye on the sugar, you want it caramelized, not burnt. It will clump up but keep stirring and it’ll eventually melt down into a liquid.
- Once the sugar has melted and looks reddish brown, add the butter and whisk constantly.
- Remove the pot from the heat and add in the whipping cream and salt. Keep whisking until everything has come together into a thick viscous liquid.
- Set the sauce aside for 10-30 minutes before pouring it into a jar. Refrigerate when not used.
You can take a look at her blog, she has more detailed steps with pictures (I’m sorry I’m not patient!). Good luck!
Vanilla cupcakes
Recipe is from 200 Cupcakes by Joanna Farrow – A friend gifted this to me for my birthday!
150g lightly salted butter, softened
150g caster sugar
175g self-raising flour
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- Line a 12-section muffin tray with cupcake liners.
- Put all the cake ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy.
- Divide the batter between the sections and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree centigrade for about 20 minutes or until risen and just firm to the touch.
Fresh Cream Frosting
This is my personal recipe, I took quite a while to perfect it and get the same consistency. It’s delish, trust me!
1 cup whipping cream – I used Red Man from Phoon Huat
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Whip ingredients in a bowl with an electric mixer for about 7-9 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to OVERBEAT or you’ll end up with butter!
Yummy!! 🙂
Those sound wonderful – beautifully decorated.
Thank you! I thought it was simple! 🙂