Salted Caramel + Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes

Salty, sweet and chocolate rich, this combination makes the most beautiful cupcakes. Inside the moist, dense chocolate sponge sits fresh tart raspberries and an oozing salted caramel, topped with a heaping of beautiful sweet vanilla bean buttercream annndd a little more salted caramel. Mmmm.

I often find cupcakes to be slightly underwhelming and overly sweet. This recipe however is perfectly balanced in terms of flavour, with a delicate squishy soft texture too.

HELP, I actually can’t stop eating them.

Ingredients: – makes 8-10 large cupcakes

• 120g plain flour
• 200g caster sugar
• 65g cup cocoa
• 1 tsp. of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. of salt
• 1 large egg, free range
• 125ml of milk
• 60ml of vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 120ml boiling water + 2 tsp. instant coffee
• 250g butter, softened
• 600g icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
• 1 punnet of raspberries
• 1 portion of salted caramel – you can use tinned or jar variations from supermarkets, or follow this link for my favourite homemade recipe.

Method:

1. Start by pre heating your oven to 170°C, and lining a muffin tray with muffin liners.
2. Next, add your dry ingredients into a large bowl – the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together until all combined.
3. Next add in your oil, egg, milk and vanilla, and whisk well to form a thick cake batter.
4. Boil your water and add 2 tsp of instant coffee or espresso powder to the measurement, and whisk slowly into your cake batter, until you obtain a pourable chocolate batter.
5. Pour evenly into your cupcake cases until they are roughly 3/4 full, and pop in the oven to bake for approx. 20 mins, or until they spring back to the touch.
6. Whilst baking start making your buttercream. Place the softened butter in a large bowl and sieve half of your icing sugar in. Beat well (or use an electric whisk for speed).
7. Sieve in the remaining icing sugar along with the vanilla and milk. Beat again. If your buttercream is feeling stiff add a few more tablespoons of milk, until its pipeable, but holds its shape.
8. Once the cupcakes have cooled, take a small knife and cut out a piece of sponge from the center of each cupcake, a few centimetres in diameter and an inch deep (check photo above).
9. Fill the inside of the cupcakes with 2 raspberries (these can be squished in) and 1 tsp. of your salted caramel.
10. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle with your buttercream.
11. Pipe ontop of each of your cupcakes – I simply piped a dome of buttercream, by centring the nozzle in the middle of the cupcake and applying pressure until the buttercream reaches the edge of the cupcake.
12. Next, pop your cupcakes in the fridge to chill for 15-20 minutes.
13. Finally finish your cupcakes with some salted caramel – I spread a teaspoon of caramel around the exterior of each buttercream dome to create a stripy look.
14. Finish with a sprinkling of fresh or freeze-dried raspberry pieces.
15. ENJOY.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! Comment below with any questions or queries 🙂 Love, Sofia xxx