These Caramel Cupcakes are a rich, sweet and buttery variation of the traditional Fairy Cake. Find out how to make them below.
A twist on a classic
After watching the first episode of The Great British Bake Off on demand at the weekend, I was (somewhat unsurprisingly) overcome with the urge to bake! So at 7 o clock in the evening I got my sous chef, a.k.a Jon my boyfriend, to join me in the kitchen to whip up a batch of Caramel Cupcakes!
Having rummaged around in his mum's cupboards (I'll replace the ingredients Mrs Moore, I promise) I stumbled across some soft brown sugar. I decided that I would tweak my normal recipe and come up with something a little more sophisticated.
Now I won't lie - if you have a sweet tooth, these are the cakes for you! If you don't want your children to need fillings, I recommend keeping them all for yourselves! These Caramel Cupcakes call for a lot of sugar so they aren't for the fainthearted (or diabetic for that matter!)
How to make perfect cupcakes every time
The first recipe I posted on this blog was for fairy cakes. Over the last 20 years I've been perfecting the recipe. In short you need to:
- Start with your ingredients at room temperature
- Don’t over mix your batter once you’ve added the flour
- Use a scoop to fill your cupcake cases
- Always pre-heat your oven
- Invest in an oven thermometer
- Don’t open the oven door while they are still cooking
- Don’t leave them to cool in the pan
Because this recipe uses light brown sugar instead of caster sugar you may find that it takes a little longer to cream together the butter and the sugar. It may feel more grainy than you're used to but don't worry it will be fine once baked.
The Recipe
Here's how you make these delicious Caramel Cupcakes!
Caramel Cupcakes
Ingredients
- For the cupcakes
- 100 g soft brown sugar
- 100 g butter
- 100 g self-raising flour
- 2 eggs
- Pinch of salt
- For the icing
- 200 g soft brown sugar
- 100 g butter
- 100 ml evaporated milk
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to gas mark 5 or 170C
- Cream together the butter and the sugar for the cupcakes in a large bowl.
- When the mix is soft and creamy, slowly add the 2 eggs, beating with an electric whisk until fully combined.
- Next fold in the flour and salt creating a light, airy mixture.
- Place the mix into cupcake cakes no more than ⅔ full.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown and springy to the touch.
- Once baked, leave the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack before icing.
- For the icing, melt the sugar and butter in a pan.
- Add the evaporate milk and heat for at least half an hour or until the mix reaches softball stage on a sugar thermometer (don’t worry it’s worth it in the end).
- Gently pour the icing over the cupcakes and finish with an extra sprinkling of brown sugar before serving.
More cake recipes
Make it vegan
If you want to make this, or any of my other cake recipes vegan, check out my big vegan baking guide. It will show you how to make the best substitute for ingredients like egg, butter, yogurt, cream and more when you’re following some of my older recipes that I created before I turned vegan.
Abi says
These look and sound delicious! I loved The Great British Bake Off. xx
Emmyw says
I'm still catching up on it! Watched another 4 episodes yesterday haha! It inspires me to bake every time which I love! Yesterday I watched the bread episode and couldn't help myself! If you have a sweet tooth I'd definitely recommend trying these 🙂
Choclette says
Love the colour of these. Brown sugar is great for giving a fudgy texture or caramel flavour to things. Your cupcakes look delicious.
Emmyw says
Thanks choclette! I think the only way I can really describe the difference between cakes made with brown sugar as opposed to caster sugar is that its a more well rounded sweetness! Delicious! They are definitely going to be one of my go to cake recipes from now on!