I must confess….I’ve never been a huge fan of frosting. Not on my cookies, not on my cakes, and not even on my cupcakes. I know, I know…I’ve posted plenty of recipes on here piled high with a variety of lovely and delicious frostings, but almost always whenever I actually sit down to eat it, I only (maybe) leave on a tiny dab. It’s just never been my thing….
…..until now.
Oh. My. WORD. I had absolutely no idea that such deliciousness could exist, until I decided to test out this caramel frosting recipe on a whim while planning for the Cupcake-A-Thon. I had wanted to give it a try because it called for making your own homemade caramel, which I had never done. (And as a sidenote — was way easier than I imagined! Super speedy, and didn’t even have to use a candy thermometer!) But I was not prepared for the rich, sweet, buttery, and caramel-y perfection that resulted in the end. Absolutely amazing.
I guarantee that — especially when paired with this wonderful almond-vanilla cupcake — it will knock your socks off. Don’t even blink an eye at the extra 10 minutes it will take to make the homemade caramel. It’s 500% worth it. (And you can make it in the time the cupcakes bake – piece of cake ;))
So cheers to the “icing on the cake”!!! I believe this officially marked my first time ever licking the frosting bowl clean. My mother would be so proud. :)
Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream
Ingredients
Cupcake Ingredients:
- 1 (18.25 oz.) white cake mix
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract, store-bought or homemade
- 4 eggs
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp. water
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract, store-bought or homemade
- 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) salted butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
- Add the cake mix, buttermilk, oil, almond extract and vanilla to a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed until moistened, about 30 seconds. Add eggs one at a time, until the batter is well-mixed. Increase speed to high and beat until thick and fluffy, 2 minutes longer.
- Pour or scoop the batter into the paper liners until they are 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cupcakes cool on a wire rack.
To Make Frosting (pics above and below):
- Briefly stir together granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue cooking, without stirring, until mixture turns dark amber in color, about 6 to 7 minutes.
- Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla (just start with a tablespoon or two), stirring with a wooden spoon until completely smooth. (Be careful, as the mixture will definitely bubble up and possibly splatter a bit as you add in the cream.) Set aside until cool to the touch, about 25 minutes.
- Beat the butter ]in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add powdered sugar, and mix until completely incorporated. Turn off the mixer, and then add caramel. Beat frosting on low to combine, and then increase to medium-high and beat until airy and thoroughly mixed, about 2 minutes. Refrigerate if not using immediately (or to harden the frosting a bit).
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Ali’s Tip:
Keep a close eye on the caramel as you make it! It goes from clear bubbles to the “amber” color within about 30 seconds, and then will burn pretty quickly thereafter.
Also, if you absolutely, absolutely don’t want to make the homemade caramel, you can substitute in some caramel topping to put into the buttercream instead.
Does anyone happen to know if this will crust? I’m experimenting with making a caramel apple cake and I’d love to use this on the outside of the cake. Can’t wait to try it, Thanks!
These look great; I’m real eager to try the frosting. One question: I don’t usually have salted butter on hand. Do you have the proportions from the original frosting recipe that called for unsalted butter and added salt?
Thanks!
I made these tonight and they turned out nicely. I wish they were a bit more heavy on the caramel flavor though…maybe next time I will experiment with doubling the caramel.
Wow. This looks and sounds fab! I can’t wait to try it. I love ribbon look of the frosting. Do you mind sharing which tip you used?
Hey Naomi!
Absolutely — I used the 1M (large) tip from Wilton. But I had the weirdest thing happen. Somehow after using it a ton, the open star actually turned into more of a closed star. So the tip actually now looks much more like the large closed star tip. So the ribbon effect was actually kind of an accident – but I liked it! :) Good luck!
~A
I needed recipes for Mothers’Day. My daughter is a fan of your blog. I saw this recipe and had to make it. I modified it a bit because I’m not crazy about almond so I doubled the vanilla and baked it as a cake instead. It was delicious! Thank you.
Yummm :)
Will try soon!
I’m totally with you with only leaving a dab of frosting on my cakes, cupcakes and etc. I don’t like it when you go to get a cupcake and it has loads of buttercream on top. The cake to frosting ration has to be right! But this one looks like it would be full of flavor and oh-so-yummy. I’m going to have to try these!
I made these today for my mother’s birthday and she was so thrilled. They are ridiculously delicious. The frosting just brings it over the top. Kudos.
ooops DIVINE!! lol
I baked a two layer chocolate cake last night. I used the salted caramel buttercream for the icing and it was devine!!!