Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Yesterday, at the Gordonton Country Market, I tasted one of the most delicious and taste-bud-challenging things ever: Salted Caramel Cupcakes!  I simply had to find a recipe, and here it is - modified to suit my needs/tastes, of course:

NB: The original recipe uses 1 cup plain sugar, 3/4 cup milk, no egg, margarine instead of coconut oil, plus fleur de sel instead of rock salt.  I'm sure you can use butter if you prefer, as well as "normal" milk and sugar.

Salted Caramel Cupcakes (makes 12)

1 1/2 cups plain flour (sifted)

3/4 cup raw sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla essence

1/2 cup rice milk
1 egg
1/3 cup grapeseed oil

2 Tablespoons cider vinegar

Icing:

1/2 cup coconut oil

3/4 cup raw sugar

1/4 cup rice milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

2 cups icing sugar (add 1/2 sifted cup at a time to cool caramel)

rock salt (for sprinkling on top - use mortar/pestle to make salt smaller)

Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 180C.  Line muffin pan with cupcake cases.  Sift dry ingredients (plain flour, raw sugar, baking soda,  and salt) into a bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together rice milk, egg, grapeseed oil, vinegar, and vanilla essence.  Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and combine. 

Fill the cupcake liners evenly with batter.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.  Let the cupcakes cool completely before icing.

Icing: In a medium saucepan, melt coconut oil (or margarine), whisk in raw sugar, rice milk, and salt. Bring to a gentle boil, and let boil for 3-4 minutes, while still stirring.  Remove from heat, stir in vanilla essence, and let cool.

Time to taste!  This caramel totally reminds me of Werther's Original bonbons.

When cooled down, mix 1/2 cup of icing sugar at a time to the caramel, until it has the right consistency.  With a flat butter knife, spread an even layer of icing on the cupcakes and sprinkle with a few pieces of rock salt.

I hope you enjoy making and eating them as much as I did! x