Butter Pecan Cupcakes With Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting Recipe 415

SALTED CARAMEL CUPCAKES WITH PECAN COCONUT BRITTLE CRUMBLE AND CARAMEL SWISS BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two standard muffin pans with 24 cupcake liners.
• For the salted caramel: Combine the sugar, 1/3 cup water and the corn syrup in a small saucepan. Stir with a wooden spoon and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer, swirling the pot occasionally, until the mixture is a beautiful amber color (watch closely). Once the desired color is reached, immediately add the butter and stir with a wooden spoon until completely incorporated. Remove from the heat. Add the heavy cream and stir to incorporate. Stir in the coarse salt. Pour 1/2 cup of the salted caramel into a small bowl or measuring cup, and the remainder into another bowl. Cool completely, stirring occasionally. (You can speed up the cooling by putting the caramel into the refrigerator, but it must be pourable when you are ready to assemble the cupcakes.)
• For the brittle: Butter a small baking sheet and set aside. In a small but deep saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, butter and 2 tablespoons water. Bring to a full boil over high heat, and boil until a candy thermometer reaches 280 degrees F. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the baking soda, and then the pecans. Pour onto the prepared pan and spread with a rubber spatula. Top with the coconut. Allow to cool. Break the brittle into pieces of desired size.
• For the cupcakes: In a medium bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder and kosher salt and set aside. Combine the milk and vanilla and set aside. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Once incorporated, add the eggs, one at a time, at low speed. Be sure to incorporate after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Do not over beat. Once incorporated, add the flour mixture and the milk mixture. Alternate with three parts flour and two parts milk, being sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary (we don't want any butter chunks stuck to the bottom). Using a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner with batter.
• Bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer the pans to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, and then transfer the cupcakes to the racks to cool completely before filling and frosting.
• While the cupcakes are baking, make the buttercream: Combine the sugar and egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl over simmering water and whisk continuously until the sugar is melted. Remove from the heat, place under the mixer with a whisk attachment and whisk at medium-high speed until soft peaks form and it cools to room temperature. Add the butter and beat until incorporated. With the mixer running, slowly beat in the 1/2 cup reserved salted caramel until the mixture is homogenous. Set aside at cool room temperature until you are ready to frost the cupcakes.
• To assemble: Use a small serrated knife, core each cupcake about 1 1/4 inches wide at the top and halfway into the cake. (Discard the cores-or nibble while you work.) Fill each with about 1 tablespoon of the remaining salted caramel. Sprinkle with about 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt. Frost each cupcake with a generous amount of caramel Swiss buttercream and garnish with crumbled pecan coconut brittle. Eat.

BROWN SUGAR-PECAN CUPCAKES WITH CARAMEL FROSTING

Steps:

• For cupcakes:
• Put rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Spray 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray; line with muffin cups.
• Whisk both flours, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt in medium bowl. Stir in chopped pecans. Beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add brown sugar; beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend between additions. Beat in sour cream and vanilla. Add dry ingredients; beat on low speed just to blend. Divide batter among muffin cups.
• Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool. DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover; store at room temperature.
• For frosting:
• Stir sugar and 1/4 cup water in medium saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high; boil until syrup turns deep amber, swirling pan and brushing down sides with wet pastry brush, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat; add cream (mixture will bubble up). Stir over low heat until caramel bits dissolve. Whisk egg yolks in medium bowl. Very gradually whisk hot caramel into yolks. Cool to room temperature.
• Using electric mixer, beat butter and salt in large bowl until smooth. Beat in caramel. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Let stand at room temperature until thick enough to spread, about 1 hour.
• Spread frosting over cupcakes. Place pecans on plate. Roll edges of cupcakes in nuts. DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

PECAN PIE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a muffin tin with paper liners and coat liners with cooking spray.
• Combine brown sugar, pecans, and flour in a large bowl; make a well in the center.
• Beat eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer until foamy, 3 to 5 minutes. Fold in butter and vanilla. Pour into the center of the brown sugar mixture. Stir until batter is well mixed.
• Spoon batter into the muffin tin, filling each cup 2/3 of the way.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

ALMOND CUPCAKE WITH SALTED CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 12 cupcake cups with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.
• In a mixing bowl, thoroughly cream together the sugar and 1/2 cup of margarine until very well blended. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly combined, and stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Gradually beat in the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, in several additions. Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake cups, filling them about 2/3 full.
• Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
• To make caramel, Place the brown sugar, 1/2 cup margarine, corn syrup, and vanilla into a large saucepan over medium heat, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes; remove from heat and allow to cool to warm (not hot) temperature. Add the cream, a little at a time, until the caramel has the consistency of honey. Mix in the pinch of salt, and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Beat the salted butter with confectioners' sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is fluffy; slowly add and beat in the caramel, a tablespoon at a time, beating until the frosting is smooth.