Description
These soft & moist caramel cupcakes are stuffed with a gooey salted caramel sauce and topped with a silky dairy free cream cheese frosting- all made entirely without eggs and no dairy!
Ingredients
Scale
Cupcake batter:
- 1 cup (240 mL) vegan buttermilk , room temperature
- 1/2 cup (112 g) neutral cooking oil or vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract + 1/2 tsp vanilla powder or vanilla bean paste
- 1 3/4 cup (230 g) all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour*
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Cream cheese frosting:
- 1 batch vegan cream cheese frosting
- 1 batch vegan salted caramel
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt, for topping
Instructions
- Read through the instructions before beginning, and make sure to measure out all ingredients.
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 12 cup-cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Prepare the vegan buttermilk by whisking together the dairy free milk and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- Make the salted caramel: Follow the instructions to make the vegan salted caramel. Set aside to cool while you make the cupcakes.
- Make the cupcake batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, and vanilla extract with the paste. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Whisk until JUST combined as you pour in the vegan buttermilk. Be careful not to over mix the batter.
- Bake the cupcakes: Use a large cookie scoop or an ice cream scoop or a spoon to fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 of the way full. Place the cupcake tin into the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out clean. Another way to test this is the tops of the cupcakes should be lightly golden and the cupcake should spring back at a light touch.
- Cool: Remove from the oven and allow the cupcakes to cool completely before filling the cupcakes and making the vegan frosting, about 20 minutes.
- Make the cream cheese frosting: Follow the instructions for making the cream cheese frosting, followed by adding 2-3 tbsp of cooled salted caramel to the frosting. Use the hand mixer to mix until the caramel is completely integrated. Place the frosting into the fridge to keep cool while you fill the cupcakes.
- Core and fill the cupcakes: Use a cupcake corer or a butter knife to cut a small hole into the top of each cupcake. Fill with 2 teaspoons of salted caramel each.
- Pipe the frosting: Fill a piping bag or spoon about 3-4 tbsp of frosting per cupcake onto each cupcake. Top with additional salted caramel and optional flaky sea salt.
- Serve and enjoy! Serve the cupcakes and enjoy! Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
Gluten free: Use a gluten-free flour blend, such as King Arthur measure for measure gluten free flour.
