Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Frosting & Caramel

Do you remember the Vanilla Bean Porter Caramel Sauce I posted a few days ago? I decided that instead of eating it all straight off the spoon I should do something fun with it. Then, the cupcakes with the really long name were born. These little beauties are pretty darn awesome if you ask me, but of course I made them, so sometimes I can be bias. I will say that of course I don't like the outcome of everything I make. These? I'm quite proud.

Previously I have been known in my circle of friends for a little something we like to call a grey salt caramel cupcake which is similar to this one. It has the same dark chocolate cupcake but it's topped with a chocolate frosting and a grey salt caramel in the little "cup" on the top. You can see where this inspiration came from of course. I think these may just overtake the grey salt caramel cupcake in popularity if some of my friends try them. 

One of my favorite parts of these is the flecks of vanilla bean in the frosting. I love the flecks in anything that is named "vanilla bean" whatever, whether it's ice cream, pastry cream, frosting....

You could use any caramel sauce that you want to of course but I think that the Vanilla Bean Porter Caramel Sauce really adds to the flavor of the cupcake. I don't make chocolate cake to often, but when I do, it's this recipe. Almost always. You don't taste the coffee in it but the coffee makes the chocolate flavor more pronounced. It's sort of like the whole thing with mayonnaise cake, you don't taste the mayonnaise but it's a super moist cake.

So if you've been looking for a chocolate cake recipe, here it is! Let me know what you think or if you have any questions.

This recipe was featured at Saturday Share with Us by lemons for lulu

Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Frosting & Caramel
Makes 36 mini cupcakes (or 12 standard size)

Ingredients:
- 1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup coffee, hot
- 1 whole egg
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ½ cup 1% milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅔ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt

- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
- 2 tablespoons 1% milk

- Vanilla Bean Porter Caramel Sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line three 12-cup mini muffin pans with paper cups, set aside.
2. In a small bowl stir together the chocolate chips and coffee until the chocolate is melted.
3. In the bowl of a mixer, blend the egg for 3-4 minutes or until it is lemon colored and thickened. Slowly add in the oil, milk, and vanilla until completely blended. Add the chocolate-coffee mixture and stir until blended.
4. Add the sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mix until blended evenly (batter will be thin).
5. Divide the batter between the mini muffin cups, filling them about ¾ - ⅘’s full. Bake the cupcakes for 11-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. If making 12 standard cupcakes, bake 17-19 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
6. In the bowl of a  mixer blend together the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla bean paste until blended, adding ½ cup powdered sugar at a time, blending between additions. Add the milk, mix until completely blended and smooth.
7. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting making a “cup shape” on top, then fill “cup” with caramel.

Printable recipe

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