Salted Caramel Cupcakes Recipe

For the Cupcake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 12-count cupcake tin with paper liners. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, granulated sugar, and baking powder together.
3. In another bowl, mix the vegetable oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract together.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix to combine. Make sure to mix just until no large lumps of flour remain-- you don’t want to overmix.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin tins, filling ⅔ full (I used a ¼ cup cookie scoop to make sure they’re all the same size).
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool.

For the Frosting

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and vanilla extract together on medium speed until the vanilla is fully combined.
2. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the powdered sugar. If you add it all at once, you’ll end up with a cloud, so make sure to add it gradually.
3. Once all of the powdered sugar has been incorporated, add ¼ cup of salted caramel.
4. Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat the frosting until it becomes smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
5. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your choice of tip and set it aside until ready to use. I used a Wilton 2D tip, but you can use anything you like!
6. Drizzle the cupcakes with the remaining salted caramel, if desired.