Vanilla Caramel Cupcakes

Last week’s chocolate caramel cupcakes were delicious, so a vanilla version seemed like a good idea too. Naturally, it was. The cupcake recipe is one I’ve used before, modified from the original marble cupcake recipe I found at Sally’s Baking Addiction to omit the chocolate batter and just go with vanilla.

I wasn’t sure what to top them with; I thought about Kraft caramel squares, but that seemed too vanilla. Then I considered Rolos for the chocolate element, but then mini Heath bars came to mind and that seemed like the best idea. Toffee is actually a cousin of caramel, cooked longer so it’s a hard, brittle treat, so it sort of made sense to me for these cupcakes. In any case, the end result is very tasty.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

• 1 2/3 cups flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

For the frosting and decoration

• 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• About 1/3 cup caramel sauce*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 18 Heath bar miniatures  (I found mine at Target)

*I used Smucker’s Salted Caramel Ice Cream topping to save time but you can also make your own caramel sauce. Homemade caramel sauce is absolutely delicious.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake tins with paper liners; my batch made 18 cupcakes. Fun fact: if you place the cupcake liners in the wells on the outside of each tin, your cupcakes can rise higher. Science, man.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter, then add sugar and stir to combine; mixture will be grainy. Refrigerate for 1 minute, then remove and add egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture until no lumps remain.

Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, scoop batter into tins and fill about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake for 20-24 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and place cupcakes on wire racks to cool completely.

To make frosting, beat butter and powdered sugar on low speed until the sugar is fully incorporated into the butter. Add caramel sauce and vanilla and beat to combine completely. Fit a large piping bag with a large closed star tip (I use the Wilton 1M) and pipe swirls of frosting onto each cupcake. Top with a mini Heath bar; store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.