Salted Caramel Cupcakes

[Imzadi]

They might just be so-so. I've eaten some terrible cupcakes (IMO) that other people have RAVED about. Not that this going on with this thread but some people are easily pleased with simple things. This guy at work brought in some cupcakes his wife made because "everyone raved about them at a family party" he brought them to.

Yes, the Oreo truffle balls I posted the thread link to, everyone on that thread 9and a few others,) were absolutely raving about them, over & over. So, I thought, great! Something new to try. Well, I made them. Even checked the recipe in case I got the recipe wrong. They just tasted like crushed Oreos & cream cheese. I can understand kids would really like them as they are used to eating lots of Oreos. They are cheap & easy to make as a different form of, well, Oreos.

People were posting how they brought them to office parties and the adults were scarfing them up. So I expected a bit more. For me, for truffles, I'm used to extremely high-end truffles, (beyond Godiva,) from working at a posh, uber-exclusive catering company which hand-makes truffles with a blend of high-end European dark chocolates. I guess I should have known to expect the Tootsie Roll end of the chocolate spectrum, rather than the high-end side, and I might have been fine.

 

[charming23]

These cupcakes sound amazing and I have already put the ingredients on my list for my grocery trip tomorrow. I was looking for a yummy trat to make for tomorrow night as friends are coming over to watch "The Vampire Diaries".

 

[livie1205]

I got the bottle for the filling at a sally supply store for 1.89...it worked great,I thought they were a tad to sweet..but good

 

[MK2thcleaner]

I thought they were amazing. I used a french vanilla cake, rather than chocolate. I probably added a tad too much caramel into a few, but the couple I got to eat were great. I didn't think the caramel I used, smuckers, was too runny. They are very sweet, but I love it that way. My son, who's no fan of salted caramel kept saying that they were "okay" but the was scarfing them down. Take what you will from that, he is a 15 y.o boy! LOL

 

[Green Tea]

I made them with never being able to find a squirt bottle. I cut the curved part of a syringe off (the kind for after wisdom tooth removal) and each cupcake got a syringe full.

I bought a bag of Heath chips and used those. There is not a Skor bar in my town to be had. The precrushed Heath worked well.

I used a total of the 15 ounce brown bottle of ice cream topping. Next time I will buy the little balls of craft caramels I think and melt them. The premade caramel sauce isn't very good. It was pretty salty to start with.

 

[natenapril]

After all these pages I HAD to go get the stuff to make them!!
I will let you know how my familylikes them but they sound delicious

 

[Mic_n_Min]

I am making the cake version of these for a family bbq tomorrow. I was going to make the cupcakes, but there will be too many little ones running around with sticky fingers! Figured it might be better if they are eating it off a plate with a fork!

Can't wait to hear what the family thinks about it tomorrow! Heck, can't wait to try it for myself after reading all of the rave reviews from everyone here!

 

[denisem]

Disappointed, wayyyyy too sweet for me.

Thanks for the suggestion, though.

 

[Disneycrazy!!]

Good Lord, I am trying to loose weight but those look OHHH so GOOD!!! Caramel and Skors are my favorite!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[aprilvaca04]

I am making the cake version of these for a family bbq tomorrow. I was going to make the cupcakes, but there will be too many little ones running around with sticky fingers! Figured it might be better if they are eating it off a plate with a fork!

Can't wait to hear what the family thinks about it tomorrow! Heck, can't wait to try it for myself after reading all of the rave reviews from everyone here!

How did the cake version come out? Did you put the caramel in the same way? I can't find a plastic squeeze bottle anywhere

 

[charming23]

I made the cake version last week and loved it. I squeezed the caramal in like you would in the cupcakes but instead of buttercream I frosted with cool whip then sprinkled on heath bar pieces and left over caramel. Yummy

 

[princesspiglet]

I make the cake version all the time and everyone loves it. When the cake comes out of the oven I poke holes in it throughout with a chopstick and then pour the caramel over top to soak in all the holes. Once it has cooled off I add the icing and the heath bar peices. I also let it chill overnight. We all like it better cold.

 

[Christine]

I made the cupcakes last weekend.

I used a dark chocolate cake mix as I thought that would be a nice match with the caramel.

What I found that I didn't like was the caramel. I have discovered I do not like jarred caramel sauce. In fact, I thought it was yucky (Smucker's brand). I used one squirt in the cupcakes and you could hardly tell it was in there (thankfully, since I didn't care for it).

I didn't dare drizzle it on the icing because I knew I didn't like the taste of it.

Overall, the cupcakes were good because I thought the Dark Chocolate cake mix was delectable and the frosting was pretty good.

I think these have a lot of promise but I'm, obviously, picky. So I think I will try my own caramel sauce next time.

 

[crashbb]

A possible replacement for the caramel sauce is dulche de leche (though I've never had it with salt added).

Just take a can of condensed (sweetened) milk. Remove the paper label but do not open the can. Take a pot with enough water to completely cover the can and bring the water to a boil. Add can and continue to boil for 3-5 hours (I vary this - the more you cook it, the darker and thicker it gets). Keep an eye on the pot and add water as needed to keep the can covered. Allowing the can to get uncovered can lead to exploding condensed milk - this is not good

Allow to cool before openinng can and stir it up to get to a soft consistency.

Did I mention keeping the can covered by water?

 

[aprilvaca04]

I make the cake version all the time and everyone loves it. When the cake comes out of the oven I poke holes in it throughout with a chopstick and then pour the caramel over top to soak in all the holes. Once it has cooled off I add the icing and the heath bar peices. I also let it chill overnight. We all like it better cold.

I make a strawberry cake this way, maybe I should try this cake this way as well. Does all the caramel soak all the way into the cake?

 

[pigletgirl]

I make a strawberry cake this way, maybe I should try this cake this way as well. Does all the caramel soak all the way into the cake?

That is exactly what I did. And no, the cake was not saturated with the caramel sauce. It was quite good!

 

[Snoozan's twin]

I have a recipe for the caramel - just ask your twin! LOL

 

[aprilvaca04]

That is exactly what I did. And no, the cake was not saturated with the caramel sauce. It was quite good!

I think I am going to try the cake version of this tomorrow...thanks

 

[Mad4Mickey]

I made my own version of these last night and dropped them off as samples . I have 2 orders for 48 each and then 1 order for 24 .

I made my own Caramel and made my fresh buttercream to top it with . I skipped the candy and did just the drizzle

 

[MELSMICE]

I made the cake version last night & it is a hit with my family.

I only used 8 oz. of the Hershey's store bought caramel & 2 crushed Heath bars, which was more than enough. The caramel is not overpowering & there are candy bar pieces on the entire cake.

Made the homemade buttercream frosting also. Everything was very simple to make.

The only thing I don't understand is why you need the salt? I had sea salt & used it, but would it really matter if you didn't? Is it a sweet/salty thing? I'm not sure it would change the taste if you left the salt out.