Caramel Corn Cupcakes

Caramel Corn Cupcakes – caramel cupcakes topped with caramel frosting and caramel popcorn studded with candy corn and cashews. A Halloween cupcake recipe by our contributor, Lauren Kapeluck of EllenJay Events.

Happy Fall Y’all!  I’m thrilled to be back in full swing with baking and cupcakes after a few months away.  Fall is one of my absolute favorite times to bake so I couldn’t let another month go by without sharing a new recipe with you all!  I hope you like CARAMEL because this cupcake is loaded with 3 layers of sugary, buttery, caramel goodness…Caramel Cake + Caramel Frosting + Caramel Corn. Fair warning, this is one sweet creation, but hey isn’t the entire month of October dedicated to indulging in all things sugar and candy anyways!  I’ve been envisioning this Caramel Corn Cupcake in my head for a few months now and I’m so happy to finally be able to share it with you all.

My favorite part about this cupcake is the homemade caramel corn on top!  It really makes a festive statement and is pretty scrumptious too!  Don’t be overwhelmed by the word “homemade” though, as this really is pretty simple.  It all starts with a bag of microwave popcorn and melting a few ingredients on the stove to create a caramel sauce and then placing the popcorn in the oven to bake…easy right?

To jazz up the popcorn add in a few of your favorite “mix-ins” for a little extra sweet and salty.  I went with candy corn, white chocolate chips and cashews.  But really any nuts would be perfect or even chopped up pieces of your favorite candy bars.  You can easily make the caramel corn a day or two in advance and store in an airtight container until ready to use, just be sure not to gobble it all up before you’ve made the cupcakes!

If you’re looking for the perfect fall treat or Halloween sweet this recipe has got you covered!  Hope you all enjoy!

CARAMEL CORN CUPCAKES
recipe by Lauren Kapeluck
(makes 22)

For the Caramel Cupcakes:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.
3. In a small blow, combine milk and vanilla.  Set aside.
4. In bowl of stand mixer beat butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy.
5. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping sides of the bowl.
6. Add flour mixture and milk, alternating, starting and ending with flour and scrape sides of bowl as necessary.  Mix until well combined.
7. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
9. Let cupcakes cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.
10. Once cupcakes are completely cool frost with Caramel Frosting and add Caramel Corn on top.

For the Caramel Frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioner’s sugar

1. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add brown sugar and heavy cream and cook on medium-low until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
4. Let mixture cool about 10 minutes.
5. Transfer the mixture to bowl of stand mixer.
6. Add confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time and beat until smooth.
7. Frost cupcakes.

NOTE:  I recommend using this icing immediately as it starts to stiffen after about 5 minutes. No worries though, add a splash of heavy cream and stir and your icing will become smooth and easy to spread again.

For the Caramel Corn:
1 bag microwave popcorn
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Candy Corn
1 cup cashew halves
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. Pop bag of popcorn according to microwave directions.  Set aside.
3. In large stock pot, melt butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt over medium heat.
4. Let the mixture boil and stir for about 10 minutes until the caramel is bubbling and amber in color.
5. In a small bowl combine the baking soda and vanilla.
6. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla and baking soda. The caramel should be light and foamy.
7. Immediately pour the popcorn into the caramel and gently fold with wooden spoon to coat.
8. Pour the popcorn out on baking sheet and spread evenly.
9. Bake the popcorn for 15 minutes. Gently stir and bake again for another 15 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven and stir popcorn one more time.
11. While the popcorn is still hot, add in the candy corn, cashews and white chocolate chips.
12. Add caramel corn to cupcakes once cool.  Store remaining popcorn in airtight container.

 

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YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY:
Pumpkin Cupcakes
Chocolate Turtle Cupcakes
Honey Cupcakes
Apple Pie Cupcakes
Apple Butter Cupcakes

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Find more cake recipes, cupcake recipes and tutorials in our Fall Baking Gallery!