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!

1. 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. 
2. Once the sugar has melted and looks reddish brown, add the butter and whisk constantly.
3. 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.
4. 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

1. Line a 12-section muffin tray with cupcake liners.
2. Put all the cake ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy.
3. 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!