These decadent  chocolate cupcakes are filled with a delicious homemade caramel, it’s a match made in heaven! The cupcakes themselves are very simple and quick to make. I iced these with a whipped chocolate buttercream and topped with a piece of dairy milk caramel (my favourite chocolate ever).

Don’t be scared to make the caramel yourself, it really isn’t hard and won’t take you a long time. While the caramel is cooking your house will smell wonderful. If you are short on time, by all means buy a shop brought caramel as it will work perfectly fine but nothing beats the taste of a homemade cupcake filled with a yummy sweet freshly made caramel!

🛒 Ingredients 🛒 

For the cupcakes:

▪️175g butter

▪️175g caster sugar

▪️3 eggs

▪️125g self raising flour

▪️1 tsp baking powder

▪️40g cocoa powder

▪️2 tsp vanilla extract

For the icing:

▪️60g unsalted butter

▪️30g cocoa powder

▪️250g icing sugar

▪️2 tbsp milk

▪️1 tsp vanilla extract

For the caramel:

▪️225g granulated sugar

▪️1/2 tsp salt

▪️60ml water

▪️60ml double cream

▪️60g unsalted butter

👩‍🍳 Method 👩‍🍳 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Prepare your cupcake cases on a tray.
2. In a bowl cream together the butter and the sugar until pale. 
3. Add in one egg at a time and make sure you mix until it is fully combined before adding the next one. Then mix in the vanilla extract.
4. Next, sieve in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder and fold through until completely mixed in.
5. Scoop the cake batter into your prepared cases, about 2/3 full and bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
6. Remove from the oven and leave too cool on a wire rack. 
7. To make the caramel; add the sugar and salt to a large pan and cover with the water. Bring to a simmer and stir until the sugar has dissolved. 
8. Once the sugar has disolved, bring the caramel to a boil. Boil for 4-5 minutes without stirring until the caramel turns a golden brown. 
9. Once the caramels colour has changed take it off the heat and add the butter and cream. Stir through but be careful as the mixture Will bubble up slightly. Leave to cool. 
10. To make the icing, beat the butter and vanilla in a bowl until it is pale. In a separate bowl, sift together the icing sugar and the cocoa powder. 
11. Add the icing sugar and cocoa powder mixture to the butter in stages. Whisk in each addition fully. Once you have added all of the icing sugar, use the milk to get it to your desired consistency. (You may not need all of the milk)
12. Place the cooled caramel into a piping bag with a round tip. Insert the tip into the centre of the cupcake and squeeze gently to fill. 
13. Pipe the buttercream onto your cupcakes and top with your favourite toppings.