I'm a little behind on this, but we had a lot of requests so better late than never, right? This cupcake has it all, a light yummy cake, caramel center, brown sugar frosting and sea salt and pretzel toppings, yum.
Cupcake recipe- makes 20
2 1/2 c. self rising flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 c. milk
1/2 c. softened butter
3 eggs
Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla and then the eggs 1 at a time, stirring well after each. Alternate adding the flour and the milk until all is combined. If desired you can place an unwrapped caramel in the center of each cupcake before baking, just sit them on the top, they will sink as they cook. Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes. These should be a nice yellow color don't let them get brown, I test mine to see if they are done, by gently jiggling the tray, if the cupcakes jiggle in the middle they aren't done.
Note: I personally didn't care for the caramel center, it was just a weird texture, but a lot of people liked it. I think next time I would just fill the insides with a caramel sauce or filling.
Brown Sugar Frosting
1 1/2 sticks softened butter
1/3 c. brown sugar
3 c. confectioners sugar
2 tsp vanilla
milk
In the bowl of your mixer cream the butter until smooth, add the vanilla and stir. Add the brown sugar beat on medium for 5 minutes (you are trying to dissolve the sugar so that it's not grainy). Add the confectioners sugar 1 cup at a time. You can add a little milk as you go if it gets to dry. Add milk 1 tbsp at a time until the consistency of toothpaste. Pipe the icing using an icing bag or sandwich bag with the end cut off. To decorate I added a sprinkle of nice quality coarse sea salt and used a pretzel twist to garnish.
