These chocolate turtle cupcakes have a soft, light chocolate cake, a rich caramel icing, and are covered with caramel sauce and chopped nuts.
Ingredients
For the chocolate muffins:
1 cup (127 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (30 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar
1/3 cup of oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup of buttermilk
1/2 cup of boiling water
1 teaspoon of instant coffee powder
For the caramel icing:
1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter
1 cup (200 grams) brown sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
2 cups (240 grams) of powdered sugar
Toppings:
Caramel sauce
Chocolate
Chopped nuts
Directions
To make the chocolate muffins:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two 12-count muffin tins with 16 muffin liners and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat the granulated sugar and the brown sugar until well combined. Using an electric mixer or blender, mix the oil, egg, vanilla extract and buttermilk until well combined.
Add instant espresso powder to boiling water and mix until dissolved, then add to mixing bowl. Mix with the rest of the ingredients until well combined, making sure not to over-mix the batter. The dough will be fine, this is good.
Distribute the dough evenly among the 16 muffin toppings, making sure to fill them only a little more than half full. Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes or until a wooden stick inserted into the muffins comes out clean. Remove from oven and carefully remove cupcakes from pan. Transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool.
To make the caramel icing:
Add the butter to a pan and heat over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the brown sugar and heavy cream and stir until combined. Let it cook for a few minutes until the sugar dissolves and the mixture starts to bubble, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking and stirring for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract and salt until combined completely. Pour the caramel sauce into a bowl and let it cool down for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, add the powdered sugar and mix with a hand blender (or in the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with the whisk attachment) until completely combined. Put the icing on the cooled cakes as desired, add more caramel sauce (or chocolate) and chopped nuts.