Turtle Cupcakes

Rich, decadent, and deliciously moist, these cupcakes are the perfect treat for a sophisticated sweet tooth.

I found this recipe for turtle cupcakes on Bakers Royale  and saw quickly that these would more than suffice for my friends preferences. 

Not to mention they have homemade caramel in the center, and I am always looking for new techniques to learn :)

A bit of a warning: these cupcakes are SWEET! Less for the light-hearted of you who prefer tame desserts, and more for those of you who eat pancakes and Oreos for breakfast like myself. 

The cupcake itself is dense and rich and the caramel soaks into the cake to give it a moist, melt in your mouth texture, and the caramel buttercream is exceptionally sweet. I couldn't purchase the rum that the original recipe calls for, and Meijer was out of rum extract and my car near out of gas, so I had to settle for the almond extract I already had at home. I could have just used all vanilla extract, but why not experiment, right? 

Chocolate Cupcakes(makes about 24)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
6 ounces chocolate, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate, mixing until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat.
5. Bake for 20–25 minutes.Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before filling with caramel.
   
   
   

 Caramel Sauce

5 tablespoons  water
3/4 cup  sugar
2/3 cup whipping cream

1. Place the sugar and the water in a small saucepan over high heat. Now and then, using the handle give the pot a swirl to keep the mixture moving. Do not stir the mixture directly. The mixture will start to bubble after a minute.
2. After approximately 3 minutes you will see a light shade of amber.
3. Another 30-90 seconds and the mixture will turn a dark shade of amber.
4. Once the mixture is a dark amber, turn off the heat and add the cream. Whisk to combine, do not worry about the bubbles as they will subside upon cooling. Set aside.

 *PLEASE watch the mixture while you are cooking it! It is very easy to burn, mine started to and luckily I saved it, but it only takes a second of distraction!

Caramel Buttercream

½ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar, divided
2 tbsp water
½ tsp salt
¼ cup whipping cream
¼  cup whole milk
4 egg yolks
2 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp dark rum

1. Add water and sugar into a saucepan over low heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Use a wet brush to remove any crystals that form on the side.
2. Increase heat to high. Now and then, using the handle give the pot a swirl to keep the mixture moving. Do not stir the mixture directly. The mixture will start to bubble after a minute.
3. After approximately 3 minutes you will see a light shade of amber and after another 30-90 seconds the mixture will turn a dark shade of amber.
4. Once the mixture is a dark amber, turn off the heat and add the cream and milk. Whisk to combine, do not worry about the bubbles as they will subside upon. Set aside and let cool .
5. Whisk egg yolks, two remaining tablespoons of sugar, and salt. Slowly add hot caramel while whisking mixture.
6. Pour combined mixture back into saucepan over medium low heat, stirring continuously until mixture coats the back of the spoon. 
7. Remove from heat. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into the stand-mixer bowl. Beat the mixture with the wire whip at medium speed until it is light and cool. Make sure the mixture at this point is completely cool before adding the butter.Gradually add 2 tablespoons at a time, beat in the softened butter at medium speed. When all of the butter has been incorporated, beat the buttercream on high until mixture is light and fluffy (approximately 1 minute). Reduce the speed and beat in the vanilla and rum. Increase the speed once again and beat the buttercream for another minute, until it’s light and creamy.

 Perhaps I faulted somewhere in this process, but I did not have near enough frosting for all of my cupcakes with this recipe...

 But I did have plenty of these delicious little sprinkles for the topping, so it worked out fine: 

 

Brown Sugar Pecans (makes plenty)

1 cup pecans
6 tablespoons butter
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Line bake sheet with foil.Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat, add brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Stir for one minute and remove from heat.
2. Continue stirring until brown sugar dissolves.
3. Toss pecans in mixture and spread over baking sheet, making sure to break up any clumps that may have formed.  
4. Bake at 325 degrees F for 25 minutes, stirring half way through.

*These make your house smell SO good while they're cooking!

Okay, now all the components are made and all your cupcakes are cooled. 

To assemble:

Cut a hole in the top of each cupcake (I just used a small paring knife) and set the portion you cut off aside. Fill all the cupcake holes with the caramel sauce and trim the hole you cut out so that it is just a small flat disk of cake and place it on top of the caramel.

Kind of rugged looking,huh?

Frost cupcakes as you desire (I made this occasion an excuse to finally go out and buy a closed star tip) and then sprinkle with the brown sugar pecans. 

I just drizzled some melted chocolate on top.

Surprise! Caramel!