Description
Gooey salted caramel cream cheese cupcakes blend rich cream cheese with silky caramel for an indulgent dessert. Bakers can elevate their skills with this luxurious sweet treat that delights senses and satisfies sweet cravings.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 ½ cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup (120 ml / 4 fl oz) sour cream, room temperature
- 8 oz (225 grams) cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 ml / 4 fl oz) caramel sauce (store-bought or homemade)
- ¼ cup (60 ml / 2 fl oz) caramel sauce
- ½ tsp sea salt flakes (for sprinkling on top)
Instructions
- Preparation: Warm the oven to 350F (175C) and arrange cupcake liners in a 12-cup muffin tin, ensuring precise spacing for consistent baking.
- Dry Blend: Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl until uniformly combined, creating a balanced dry mixture.
- Butter Fusion: Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until the mixture transforms into a light, airy consistency, establishing a smooth cupcake foundation.
- Liquid Integration: Blend eggs individually into the butter mixture, then incorporate vanilla extract and sour cream, developing a silky batter with seamless texture.
- Caramel Infusion: Gently fold caramel sauce into the batter, creating delicate golden swirls throughout the mixture.
- Batter Completion: Delicately combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients, stirring minimally to preserve the batter’s delicate structure.
- Cream Cheese Preparation: Whip cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract until achieving a luxuriously smooth filling with no visible lumps.
- Cupcake Assembly: Strategically layer batter in liners – place a tablespoon of batter, add a cream cheese dollop, then cover with another batter spoonful, filling each liner to three-quarters capacity.
- Baking Process: Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, checking doneness with a toothpick that emerges clean when inserted near the center (avoiding cream cheese filling).
- Cooling and Finishing: Rest cupcakes in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Once cooled, embellish with a caramel sauce drizzle and a delicate sea salt flake sprinkle.
- Storage: Serve immediately or preserve in an airtight container, maintaining delectable quality for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Prevent Overmixing: Gently fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients to maintain a light, tender cupcake texture. Overmixing can lead to dense, tough cupcakes.
- Check Cream Cheese Placement: When inserting the toothpick to test doneness, carefully avoid the cream cheese center to get an accurate baking assessment.
- Temperature Matters: Use room temperature butter and eggs for smoother batter integration and more consistent mixing results.
- Customize Salt Levels: Adjust sea salt flakes based on personal preference, starting with a light sprinkle and increasing gradually to find the perfect sweet-salty balance.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 13
- Calories: 330
- Sugar: 24 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 17 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 75 mg