If you’re a caramel lover.. consider this recipe tailor made for you! Fluffy vanilla cake, rich caramel buttercream frosting, and topped with fresh baked caramel corn that gives them a satisfying crunch! They’re perfect for birthday parties, movie nights, and any other cupcake making occasion. But who really needs a reason to make them? Get baking!
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For caramel corn:
1 bag of microwave popcorn, popped (should yield about 4-5 cups of popcorn)
½ cup sugar
1 ½ Tbs water
¼ cup heavy cream
3 tsp Sailor Jerry Rum (to make them kid friendly you can just use vanilla extract instead)
Cake recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
(makes 12 cupcakes)
For vanilla cupcakes:
1 + 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 egg whites
¼ cup vanilla Greek yogurt
¾ cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
For caramel buttercream frosting:
½ cup sugar
1 ½ Tbs water
¼ cup heavy cream
3 tsp Sailor Jerry Rum (again – feel free to substitute vanilla extract to make them kid friendly)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (93 degrees C) and spread cooked popcorn in a single layer on a large baking sheet.
(1.) Add sugar and water to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Do not stir! (2.) Boil the syrup for 6-8 minutes or until a deep amber caramel forms. (3.) Remove from heat and stir in cream. Add Sailor Jerry Rum (or vanilla) and stir until combined. Pour the caramel sauce into a heatproof cup or bowl and let it cool slightly. (4.) Pour over the popcorn. Use a rubber spatula to toss and flip popcorn and coat as evenly as possible. Place in the oven to bake for 1 hour, tossing again about halfway through the cook time.
When finished baking, set aside to cool.
Switch oven temperature to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C) and line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners.
(5.) In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. (6.) In a separate large bowl, stir together sugar and melted butter. (7.) Stir in egg whites, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until mixed. (8.) Using an electric mixer, slowly beat in flour mixture until completely combined and batter is smooth. Distribute batter amongst muffin cups and place in the oven to bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
(9.) Let cupcakes cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack to finish cooling another 15-20 minutes.
Now for the frosting..
Just like you did before, heat sugar and water over high heat in a small saucepan until it comes to a boil. Boil the syrup for 6-8 minutes or until a deep amber caramel forms. Remove from heat and stir in cream. Add Sailor Jerry Rum (or vanilla) and stir until combined. Pour the caramel sauce into a heatproof cup or bowl and let it cool to room temperature.
(10.) In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth. (11.) Beat in 1/3 cup of the cooled caramel sauce until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Reserve the rest of the caramel to drizzle on the cupcakes when you’re finished. Stir in vanilla extract. (12.) Beat in powdered sugar and a pinch of salt slowly, again, scraping down the sides as needed until completely mixed and smooth. If the frosting seems runny that might mean your caramel sauce wasn’t cooled all the way. Place the bowl of frosting in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until frosting is set up. (13.) Add to a pastry bag or zip-lock bag with the corner tip cut off. Frost cupcakes (looks don’t matter here since we’re covering them with caramel corn, hence my swirly dog turd-esque looking cupcakes).
(14.) Stick caramel corn over the frosting, covering as much as you can.
Drizzle with extra caramel sauce and serve.
You can also make them the night before, just cover, refrigerate, and then allow them to come back down to room temperature about an hour before serving.
Enjoy!
Samantha @ Carpe Cibus says
Lovely!