A Sweet Little Recipe: Caramel Cupcakes

I love to cook, but baking sometimes gives me pause.  There’s just so much measuring, and you never know what you’re going to get until you’re done.  In any case, I’ve made these caramel cupcakes at least a dozen times and other than that one time I forgot to add the vanilla to the glaze and it came out all gummy and weird they’ve always turned out great!

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 2 cups + 2 tablespoons sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 oz. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk

Caramel Glaze Ingredients:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Line cupcake tins with baking liners. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.

Fill each cupcake tin about 2/3 full. Bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from tin, and place on a cooling rack while you prepare the caramel glaze.

Bring cream, brown sugar, corn syrup, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil 12-14 minutes, until glaze registers 210 to 212°F on thermometer, then stir in vanilla. Place newspaper or paper towels under cooling racks and pour hot glaze over the tops of the cupcakes, allowing it to run down sides. Cool ~30 minutes, until glaze is set.

WARNING: These things have a nasty little habit of disappearing.  The recipe made about 18 cupcakes, and the first night Eric and I both ate 2 a piece.  But somehow when I got up the next morning, there were only 8 left.  Strange…