Yellow Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting
We celebrated my husband’s birthday yesterday with some of our friends, and he requested a yellow cake with his late Grandmother Donna’s caramel frosting that he used to have as a kid. We decided it would be better if I made cupcakes since there would be twelve of us, including 6 kids. I found an easy yellow cake recipe on Taste of Home that looked great, and my mother-in-law, Fran, sent me her mother’s recipe for caramel frosting. The house smelled amazing while the cupcakes baked and even more amazing when I was cooking the frosting. This easy recipe for yellow cupcakes with caramel frosting was a huge hit with everyone and put an extra special smile on my husband’s face. My daughter said it was the best frosting EVER. Thanks for the recipe, Fran!
Yellow Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting
 Yellow Cupcakes:
- 2½ cups of flour
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1¾ cup of sugar
- â…” cup of butter, softened
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups of milk
Caramel Frosting:
- ½ cup of butter
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- ¼ cup of hot milk
- 3¼ cups of powdered sugar
How to Make Yellow Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Make the cupcakes by combining the flour with the baking powder and salt; mix well.
In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar and butter until creamy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with milk, mixing well after each addition.
Pour evenly into the cupcake liners.
Place into the oven and bake 17-20 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes before putting them on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Prepare the caramel frosting by heating the butter and brown sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Once it’s boiling, stir for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes.
Add the hot milk and the powdered sugar, then mix until well combined.
Spoon the frosting into a zip-lock bag and cut the corner.
Frost the cupcakes by piping the frosting, starting at the outer rim of the cupcake, until you get to the center. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
Serve and enjoy.
Ingredients
Yellow Cupcakes:
- 2½ cups of flour
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1¾ cup of sugar
- â…” cup of butter softened
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups of milk
Caramel Frosting:
- ½ cup of butter
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- ¼ cup of hot milk
- 3¼ cups of powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Make the cupcakes by combining the flour with the baking powder and salt; mix well.
- In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar and butter until creamy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with milk, mixing well after each addition.
- Pour evenly into the cupcake liners.
- Place into the oven and bake 17-20 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes before putting them on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Prepare the caramel frosting by heating the butter and brown sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Once it's boiling, stir for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes.
- Add the hot milk and the powdered sugar, then mix until well combined.
- Spoon the frosting into a zip-lock bag and cut the corner.
- Frost the cupcakes by piping the frosting, starting at the outer rim of the cupcake, until you get to the center. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
- Serve and enjoy.
I can definitely understand why this might just be the best frosting, EVER, Pam…Wonderful birthday cupcakes…I’m sure they were a huge hit!!! Thanks for sharing…
Just give me the frosting, spoon and bowl and no one gets hurt….Glad you had fun on spring break!
These look so pretty.. thanks for sharing!
They’re look so delicious! 😛
Oh dear! It is barely 8 a.m., and I am craving a cupcake!!!! Those look so delicious! Happy Birthday to your Hubby. A fellow Arian!!! I am Aries as well.
Thanks so much for your sweet comment!!!
Love ya,
Kris
Hi, Pam! What ‘wowed’ me about these beauties is that you can make such a lovely caramel-flavoured frosting from just butter and sugar and that you can pipe it on using a ziplock bag! I would never have thought of that … great idea!
Caramel frosting you say? I’m in!
I love these cupcakes with caramel frosting ! look stunning!
many times I don’t make cupcakes!
I(m happy you come back!
Oh, and Julie, we just tried that caramel apple oatmeal cookie 2 days ago and you are so right – it is amazing!! We’d highly recommend!
That icing recipe has a been a favorite at our house for over 30 years. I have found that the butter can be cut in half with no difference in flavor or texture.
These look so rich and delicious! That icing recipe sounds incredible!!!
I love the sound of this frosting on top! It’s been a while since I made it that way but I remember everyone commenting how good it was!
Oh boy someone made cupcakes!
Your frosting came out perfectly.
It’s been a while since I’ve made cupcakes. I’m just too afraid to make them since I’ve been so good on my diet, and just know I would easily eat them all.
But I do want to make this frosting.
Happy Birthday, Chad! Your cupcakes look wonderful!
Augh!!! Caramel is one of my very favorite things in the universe. I think this is going to be bad for me 🙂 because I’m going to want to make this caramel frosting every day! Hahaha! Love!
That frosting is dreamy!! I definitely need to try it. Happy birthday to your husband!!
These cupcakes sound like such a yummy treat! Caramel frosting- YUM! Pinned 😉
given the choice, i’d pick caramel frosting for any cake on any occasion–i LOVE that stuff. great recipe!
Happy (belated) Birthday to your hubby! These cupcakes look amazing…especially the frosting. I love anything caramel!
I made these the other night. I got 20 and froze half of them for later. These cupcakes were really good. I liked the “old school” frosting. Nice break from the world of buttercream. I didn’t pipe but spread it onto the cupcakes. The cake part was very good. Kind of pound cake like. Will make them again!