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.
More Cupcake Recipes:
- The Best Brooklyn Blackout Cupcakes
- Ultimate Salted Caramel Cupcakes
- Kahlua Chocolate Cupcakes
- Ultimate Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- Butterfinger Chocolate Cupcakes
Dark Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting and a Giveaway
Ingredients
For the Dark Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes:
- 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
For the Salted Caramel Frosting:
- 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
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a cupcake pan with liners; set aside.
- Place the butter and chocolate in a heat-proof bowl and place that bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the simmering water. Stir until the butter and chocolate are completely melted. Add in the brown sugar, espresso powder (if using), and vanilla; whisk well to combine. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool for a few minutes.
- Once the mixture has slightly cooled, add in the eggs and yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Whisk in the flour, salt, and baking powder – careful not to over mix here! Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter among the prepared cupcake cups.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 21-25 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In the meantime, make your frosting!
For the Salted Caramel Frosting:
- In a medium-sized saucepan over medium-heat, combine the butter, cream, vanilla, brown sugar, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar melts and the mixture comes to a low simmer; about 4 minutes. Remove the mixture from heat and let it cool for 2 minutes, then transfer the mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar to the bowl and beat on medium-low speed until well combined. Add in another 1-2 cups of confectioners’ sugar and beat until thick and fluffy; 4-6 minutes. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.
Suzanne Hales says
I can’t wait to try the dark chocolate Brownie cupcakes with salted caramel frosting! ooooeeeemmmggg! If it wasn’t so late I would be at the grocery store buying the ingredients to make them asap! I will probably dream about them when I go to sleep tonight. The lemon ricotta comes almost a toss up but, Dark Chocolate brownie cupcakes trump lemon every time for me. YummY 🙂 😛
J says
I made these dark chocolate brownie cupcakes for a dinner party (with white frosting for child decorating) and they were a HUGE hit! I really want to use this recipe again for my daughter’s upcoming birthday. How do you think this would do as a double layer circular cake? Could I just double the recipe? What about baking time and temp? Any help would be most appreciated !!
Debbie says
I just found this on your site and I cannot wait to try them! If I make the as mini cupcakes, how long should I bake them?
Thanks!
Ruth says
Is the caramel frosting firm enough to use as a filling for a dense, 3-layer banana cake?
bakerbynature says
Hi Ruth. While I’ve never tried icing a layer cake with this frosting, I think it should work. However I would double the frosting recipe so you have enough.
Ruth says
Thank you!
Alison says
Did anyone actually make these? Because I did, and they were awful! Cupcakes and frosting were both hard as a rock. Huge waste of time and money.
bakerbynature says
Hi Alison. I’m so sorry your cupcakes didn’t turn out. Sounds like the cupcakes may have been over baked and the frosting needed a little extra cream. I would love to help you troubleshoot what went wrong if you decide to make these again in the future.
Anissia Halstead Dias says
Hi, I am a home baker (from Mumbai City, India). I run a home based cake business. I absolutely loved the DARK CHOCOLATE BROWNIE CUPCAKES WITH SALTED CARAMEL FROSTING recipe and I will be trying it out for the New Year!! HopeI can take part in the Giveaway.
I cannot access the website “http://joythebaker.com” as it says Joy the Baker is getting a snazzy new update and will return on 12/31 so fresh and so clean clean.
Here’s wishing you A Happy New Year 2016!
bakerbynature says
Happy New Year, Anissia!
Donna Keel says
I believe I’ll try the VANILLA ALMOND ORANGE CLOUD COOKIES. Love anything with orange flavor. Also must try out these salted caramel cupcakes.
Ingrid De Maeyer says
As I promised my son to make some waffles this week and blueberries are my favourites, am definitely going to make the blueberries waffles and the potatoes and chives galette looks very easy and tasty too!
Cynthia Robinson says
BEEF ENCHILADAS WITH GREEN OLIVES AND RAISINS look just amazing. I have been wanting to try Enchiladas and have never gotten around to it and these look really yummy.
Cynthia Robinson says
and then either your One-Bowl Lemon Ricotta Cupcakes OR THE Dark Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting.
HARD TO CHOOSE… LOVE LEMON AND RICOTTA combo and I am a chocoholic…
Rachel says
Hi! I made this frosting today, but after beating it for the amount of time listed in the recipe, it was rather gooey. I then put it in the fridge to firm up so that I could use it in a piping bag, but then it became too firm and couldn’t be pushed through the icing tip. Any idea what went wrong?
bakerbynature says
Hi Rachel. Next time I would either just add a little more confectiners’ sugar (1/4 cup at a time) or let the frosting rest at room temperature for a few minutes. It does firm up quite a bit in the moments after it’s done beating. I hope that helps!