Pumpkin cupcake filled with a caramel core, and then frosted with a salted caramel cream cheese frosting.
These cupcakes are decadent.
The caramel is the perfect consistency.
You will want to make your salted caramel a day ahead so it has time to cool and rest before adding to your cupcakes.

Pumpking Cupcakes

Ingredients

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• 2-½ cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1-½ cups pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• ⅓ cup hot water

Instructions

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Preheat oven to 350℉ and line two cupcake tins with liners.
Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of a mixer cream butter until it is coating the bottom of the bowl.
Add in the sugar and continue to blend until thoroughly combined.
Add in eggs, pumpkin puree and maple syrup, mix to combine.
Take dry ingredients in ⅓ increments, and add it into the batter along with the water mixing after each addition.
Mix just until the water and dry ingredients are combined, then put batter into cupcake liners.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Once cupcakes are baked, core cupcakes with a cupcake corer and put salted caramel in the center.
Then frost with the salted caramel frosting.

Caramel Filling

Ingredients

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• 4 cups sugar
• ¼ cup corn syrup
• ¼ cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup of butter cut into chunks

Instructions

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When I make caramel I always buy extra ingredients because even though I’ve been making it for years, it’s always a gamble.
There are nights if I rush and don’t take it slow then I may burn a batch.
Whenever that happens I just turn around and try again immediately.
When choosing a pot to make the caramel, choose the biggest widest pot available.
It should cover the largest area possible so the caramel will cook evenly.
Also, don’t leave the caramel for a single second on the stove without watching it.
It has to be babysat—look at it the entire time controlling the heat and watching for the right color.
Pour water and corn syrup into a large pot, then pour in sugar.
Cook sugar mix over medium low heat without stirring until translucent and bubbling.
Then increase heat to medium high/high and watch it very closely until it turns an amber color.
Pour in heavy cream and have a whisk ready because it is going to bubble like crazy when cream is poured in.
Whisk over low heat until mixture is smooth.
Turn up the heat and bring mixture to 238℉ on a candy thermometer.
Be sure to stir the entire time so it doesn’t burn.
Once it has reached the right temperature, pull off heat and mix in butter and salt.
Let cool completely before using.
I will usually pour mine into a heatproof bowl, put a hot pad underneath set my bowl in the fridge to cool overnight.

Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

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• 1 stick of butter
• 1 8 oz package of cream cheese
• 1 32 oz bag of powdered sugar
• ¼ cup caramel filling (recipe above)
• ¼-½ cup whipping cream

Instructions

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Cream butter on high until it is coating the bowl.
Add in cream cheese and mix on high for 2 minutes while the butter and cream cheese combine.
Add in powdered sugar.
Add in a little bit of whipping cream at a time until frosting starts to come together.
Once frosting is coming together add in salted caramel.
Then whip frosting for 2 minutes until creamy and smooth.