Dark Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

Name: Dark Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting and a Giveaway
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter; 8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (I used high quality chocolate chips here); 1 cup light brown sugar, packed; 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional); 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; 4 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature; 1 cup all-purpose flour (be sure not to pack your flour here); 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips; 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter; 1/2 cup heavy cream; 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; 1 cup packed light brown sugar; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

March 17, 2015 by Ashley Manila 87 Comments

Fluffy yet dense Dark Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting! These are a total showstopper and so unique! A must try for anyone who loves the combination of chocolate and caramel!

Salted Caramel Brownie Cupcakes

I’ve been on a bit of a salted caramel bender lately, so it felt appropriate to kick-start this week off with dark chocolate brownie cupcakes piled high with salted caramel frosting. Also, there’s a giveaway! This recipe right here is from a famous little blogger you might know as JOY THE BAKER. The one and only. It’s from her latest book Joy the Baker Homemade Decadence: Irresistibly Sweet, Salty, Gooey, Sticky, Fluffy, Creamy, Crunchy Treats, and as you might have guessed, I’m giving you a chance to win a copy! But that’s not all – I’m also giving away the holy grail of kitchen appliances – a KitchenAid 6 Qt. Professional Series Standmixer.

Not bad for a Tuesday, right?

Alright, so let’s jump into this recipe with both feet! We begin at the base of this delicious dessert: the dark chocolate brownie cupcake! These cupcakes are rich, fudgy, and utterly decadent. They are slightly more dense and chewy than a typical chocolate chocolate cupcake, but um, that’s because they’re brownie cupcakes! The tops of the baked cupcakes will be shiny and kind of crinkly (just like a tray of brownies fresh from the oven), so don’t panic if they look a little different than what you’re expecting. They’re going to satisfy you 100%!

Now that we’ve worked out the brownie cupcake situation, let’s mosey on into salted caramel territory. This frosting is legit! Sweet, salty, and very easy to eat by the spoonful… straight from the mixing bowl. Whaaaa? Joy would approve <— I’m 99.5% sure of it.

But don’t eat all of it, ok? We need some for our cupcakes!

Making this frosting is a little different than the usual “beat butter; add sugar; add cream; you’re done” scenario. You’re going to start by making a caramel sauce. This is really easy and only takes a few minutes on the stove-top. My biggest piece of advice here is to stay close while the caramel is cooking. Caramel happens fast, and if you walk away to check your email or feed your dog, you may very well return to a pot full of burnt ingredients. And that would a shame.

Once the caramel is cooked and cooled (just a few minutes!), you’re going to add it to a mixing bowl, add in some confectioners’ sugar, and beat it until it’s nice and smooth. You’ll add more sugar as you go, and beat it on high for a few minutes. Then it’s done! See? Not too scary, right? Now you’re free to decorate your brownie cupcakes as you please! I chose to swirl the frosting on high, sprinkle with flaky sea salt, and finally top with a chewy little caramel. I’m dramatic like that.

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