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| Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake |
I owe my interest and new love of salted caramel goodies to my mom. Our favorite shop is a little store in Sellwood that sells Americana decor and gifts and it's a treat for us to get to go there. It's on a street with other boutique type shops, trees lining the walk and very old homes. It's fun to window shop up and down the streets, check out some antiques, all the while knowing that we will end our afternoon with a stop at Starbucks.
As we approached the Starbucks door, I saw their newest drink: Salted Caramel Mocha. I'm a pretty adventurous coffee drinker but this flat struck me wrong. "Oh, that looks gross," I blurted out. To my utter amazement, my mom said, "I don't know. I've heard really good things about them at work. One girl says they're her favorite and she had to run in to get one when we had a break." Now my mom has excellent judgment and good taste yet she only drink regular coffee, so this really made me think. "Want to get one and split it?" she asked. "Yes, yes I do!" With the first sip, so began my new obsession of salted caramel and chocolate. So in honor of the "Salted Caramel" lover in all of us, here's a recipe that's sure to please!
We're going to start by assembling our ingredients for the milk chocolate cupcake with a dense, moist, rich texture.
In the double boiler, melt together the chocolate chips and butter until smooth.
Let the multi-tasker in you take over, and start whipping the eggs in a mixer.
This is going to take 5 minutes! But look how beautifully yellow and frothy!
When the chocolate is melted, remove from heat and stir in the sour cream. Then mix the chocolate into the eggs.
In a smaller bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and then add them into the wet mixture.
Pour 2/3 full into cupcake papers (makes about 18)
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until the center is set.
Now it's FROSTING time! Back to the double-boiler...melt the caramels with 1 tbsp of milk.
While they're melting, head back to the mixer and whip together the butter, cream cheese, salt and vanilla. Add powdered sugar alternately with 3 tbsps of milk. When the caramel is melted, gently fold it into the buttercream, allowing it to remain swirled.
To assemble, frost the top of the cupcake with frosting, garnish with sprinkles of your choice, a light dusting of sea salt, a pinch of raw sugar, and top with a caramel!
Don't forget the shopping list!
Chocolate Cupcakes
12 ounces chocolate chips (I used half white and half semi-sweet)
1/2 butter
1/2 sour crea
1 cup sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Salted Caramel Buttercream
1/2 cup butter
3 ounces cream cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 ounces powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
15 caramels, more for garnishing
1 tablespoon milk
From one hearty appletite to another...happy cooking!
© Photography by Sandra Baumgarten
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