The photos for this post were updated in December 2020. The recipe has been very slightly amended.
I'm a bit obsessed with salted caramel at the moment... ever since I made my Salted Caramel Cheesecake I've been wanting to making something else with the same flavour. So I came up with these Salted Caramel Cupcakes - I've put light brown sugar in the sponge to give it a caramel flavour, the buttercream has a salted caramel flavouring in it, then they're filled with salted caramel sauce, topped with a bit more of the sauce and also some salted caramel fudge! They are a salted caramel explosion!
How to make Salted Caramel Cupcakes...
To make the sponge I started by creaming together the butter and light brown sugar, then I whisked in the eggs and vanilla. Then I added the self raising flour and whisked until smooth.
I divided the mixture between the cupcake cases, and baked them for 25 minutes until golden.
Once the cupcakes were fully cooled I used a cupcake corer to make a hole in the centre and I filled it with salted caramel sauce. I mixed up a buttercream using butter, icing sugar and a salted caramel flavouring extract (or you can use caramel sauce). I piped it onto the cupcakes, then added some chopped up salted caramel fudge and more salted caramel sauce.
What caramel sauce is best to use?
My favourite caramel sauce to use is my Homemade Caramel Sauce, it's rich, smooth and absolutely divine! You can also easily add salt to it to make it into a salted caramel sauce. If you don't want to make your own, it's quite easy nowadays to find a good quality ready made caramel (or salted caramel) sauce in the shops or online. I have used Tesco's Finest, Bonn Maman and Carnation Caramel in the past with great results.
How long do the Salted Caramel Cupcakes keep for and can they be frozen?
The cupcakes will keep in an airtight container for 3 days in a cool place. You can freeze the sponges either alone, or decorated (but do not freeze the Kinder Bueno pieces or sprinkles). Once the sponges are fully cool, wrap them well with cling film or put them in an airtight container. You can freeze the buttercream on it’s own in a tub, or you can decorate the cupcakes and freeze them assembled.
To do this and avoid damage to the decoration, freeze them in an airtight container. Or let them freeze solid on a board or plate, then wrap in cling film. Remove the cling film when you take them out to defrost it, if you don’t it could damage the decoration as it defrosts and softens.
Can you make the fudge for the topping?
You can use a shop bought salted caramel fudge to top the cupcakes (Tesco do a really yummy one), or you can make your own. You might like to try my recipe for Salted Caramel Fudge.
Can this recipe be made into a large cake?
Yes! Check out my Salted Caramel Cake recipe for the ingredients and instructions.
Tips for making the Salted Caramel Cupcakes:
- The piping nozzle I used for these was Ateco 829, however you can use any nozzle you like to pipe the buttercream on.
- You could also decorate them with sprinkles, or those little fudge pieces you can get in the baking aisle.
- If you can't find caramel extract for the buttercream, check the recipe notes for another option using caramel sauce to flavour it.
Recommended equipment & ingredients*
| Cupcake tin | Electric hand mixer | Piping bags |
| Caramel extract | Brown cupcake cases | Salted Caramel Sauce |
| Ateco 829 piping nozzle |
*I earn a small amount of money if you buy the products after clicking on the links. You will not be charged anything extra for this. Thank you for supporting The Baking Explorer!
More Salted Caramel recipes...
 |  |  |
| Salted Caramel Cheesecake (No Bake) | Salted Caramel Egg Brownies | Salted Caramel Fudge |
 |  |  |
| Salted Caramel Cake | Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart | Salted Caramel Rocky Road |
Salted Caramel Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 175 g Butter or baking spread
- 175 g Light brown sugar
- 3 Eggs large
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 175 g Self raising flour
For the buttercream
- 200 g Butter
- 400 g Icing sugar
- 2 tsp Salted caramel flavouring I used Tesco's (see recipe notes if you can't find this ingredient)
- 1 tbsp Milk
For the filling and decoration
- 200 g Salted caramel sauce good quality shop bought or homemade
- 75 g Salted caramel fudge optional, chopped up
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, and line a cupcake tin with cupcake cases
- To make the cupcakes, mix together the butter and light brown sugar, ideally using an electric mixer, until fluffy
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and whisk well
- Then gently whisk in the self raising flour
- Divide the mixture between the 12 cupcake cases
- Bake them for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool completely on a cooling rack
- Use a cupcake corer or a knife to make a hole in the middle of each cupcake
- Fill the holes with the salted caramel sauce. You can do this using a spoon or put the sauce into a small piping bag, snip the end off and pipe it in
- Make the buttercream by mixing together the butter and icing sugar, then add the salted caramel flavouring and milk, and mix until smooth. You can do this by hand or for best results use an electric mixer
- Pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake using a piping bag fitted with a nozzle. Or spread on with a spoon
- Sprinkle the fudge over the top
- Drizzle over the salted caramel sauce, using either a piping bag or a spoon
- Store in an airtight container in a cool place, eat leftovers within 3 days
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you like this, check out more of my Cupcake recipes!
Cat | Curly's Cooking
These cupcakes look so tasty! My husband loves salted caramel so would be all over these.
thebakingexplorer
Thanks Cat!
Monika Dabrowski
These look super yummy, I love salted caramel too! #CookBlogShare
thebakingexplorer
Thanks Monika! Glad you are a fellow salted caramel fan!
Rosaleen Mary Marmion
Ok, i'll be trying these out for sure, they look incredible!
Thanks for sharing
thebakingexplorer
Let me know what you think!
Rebecca - Glutarama
I watched you piping these on Instagram and it was love at first sight!...lovely nozzle btw 😉
thebakingexplorer
Thanks Rebecca! I can't wait to use it again I love trying out new piping nozzles.
jenny paulin
THESE LOOK AMAZING!! oops sorry for the shouting then - I was just excited to tell you lol. I love the hidden caramel centre mmmmm! thank you for sharing with #Bakeoftheweek x
thebakingexplorer
Thanks so much Jenny! And I love your enthusiasm!
Liz
These are scrumptious! No wonder they didn't last very long. Thank you for bringing them to FF.
thebakingexplorer
Thanks Liz!
LINDA
Hi, love your post. I would like to invite you to come share this on the CLASSY FLAMINGOS BLOG PARTY held each Tuesday evening thru Friday. You'll get large picture exposure and shout outs on all of my social media sites. And if you get PINKED you get even more exposure! I hope you'll come by. poinsettiadr.com
thebakingexplorer
Hi Linda, sorry I missed the last one, I'll check it out soon!
Amanda W.
Hi, for the filling - where do I get the salted caramel sauce? Thanks
thebakingexplorer
I got mine in Tesco, and if you check out the Amazon links above the recipe there are other brands available from Amazon too. Or check your local supermarket.
Aisha khatun
I love these Salted Caramel cupcakes! Big fan. I'm definitely going to try these out. 🙂
Jay Cluitt
Recipe was easy to follow, cupcakes were delicious! Make sure you pair them with the salted caramel fudge!
thebakingexplorer
Thank you Jay!
Maish
Hi, did you use salted or unsalted butter for the butter cream?
I’m looking forward to using this recipe!!
thebakingexplorer
Hi, I use unsalted butter 🙂 hope you enjoy the cupcakes!
Kee
Hiya
How can I make this eggless pls?
Thanks
thebakingexplorer
Hi, sorry I have never made this without eggs, you could try the various egg replacements available but I haven't tested any of them. It may be best to look for a recipe that is already egg free.
Amy
The recipe calls for light brown sugar, yet I only have dark brown sugar. How much would the difference in sugar affect the taste and texture? If it's not too big of a difference, is it fine to use dark brown sugar?
thebakingexplorer
Hi Amy, you can use dark brown sugar, the difference will be the cupcakes will be darker in colour and have a stringer caramelised taste. I hope that helps!
Amy
The cupcake was much too sweet. Perhaps I had messed up somewhere in the recipe? The bread was slightly hard, the frosting was much much too sweet- and I'm known for loving sweet things. If I ever do make this again, I would use 100 grams of icing sugar for the buttercream. Overall, it was alright but took much too much effort to do.
Again, it might just be my incompetence and messed up somewhere- anyways I wonder what I shall do with all of these cupcakes!
thebakingexplorer
Hi Amy, I'm sorry to hear you found them too sweet. They are meant to be a sweet treat, and the sugar levels are normal for this kind of baked good, so I expect it's just personal preference that is the issue here. I wouldn't recommend using that little amount of icing sugar if you try them again as the buttercream will be very sloppy, you do need a certain amount for thick buttercream. Hopefully your friends and neighbours will enjoy the cupcakes!
Amy
Hah...perhaps it was just a bad cupcake I ate yesterday. I had another and they were really good. Not sure why that one cupcake turned out so wrong. Anyways, thank you for the recipe, I love the idea of putting the caramel in the inside and the fudge on the top!
Amy
Edit: my son decided to put icing sugar all over that one cupcake and somehow I didn't notice. Lol no wonder it was so sweet!
-Amy, once again
thebakingexplorer
Ah that explains it! I was confused so I really appreciate you letting me know, thank you!
Ayana
Can I use AP flour instead of self rising?
thebakingexplorer
Hi Ayana, yes you can but you will need to add baking powder. The general advice is to add 2 tsp per 200g plain/AP flour. I hope you enjoy the cupcakes!