Caramel frappuccino cupcakes are the next best thing to the a cup of Joe. It’s a caffeinated caramel mini cupcake topped with more coffee! Definitely a dream come true for light roast coffee lovers.
I remember watching an episode of How to Cake It. Yolanda was making a Starbucks salted caramel mocha coffee and it looked amazing. So, I thought why not create a miniature version of a Starbucks drink? This recipe is totally inspired by Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino blended beverage.
A cup of coffee helps start the day. But a mini cupcake makes it worth while. So, grab a coffee and let’s get started!
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Caramel Frappuccino Cupcakes
So, I have a quick question. Who’s ready to make these amazing mini cupcakes?
With a coffee flavored cake, caramel drizzle, and coffee buttercream. What’s not to love? Time to dive into these caramel frappuccino cupcakes!
The “Key” Ingredients
Let’s briefly discuss the key ingredients to this incredible mini cupcake. Without these ingredients…the Caramel frappuccino cupcakes would not have its name.
Flour
Of course flour is highly important to make any type of cupcake/cake. So to make this cupcake as light and fluffy as possible we used a combination of all-purpose flour and cake flour. Cake flour has less protein which leads to a more tender cake. Bottom-line this combination is the bomb.com.
Caramel
Well hello….the name of this cupcake contains caramel so of course it needs to be added to the cupcake. But, how you plan to use the caramel is entirely up to you. There’s two ways to incorporate the caramel. First option, add the caramel sauce to the cupcake batter before baking. Second option, after the cupcakes are fully baked and cool grab a piping bag with a piping tip. Then, fill the bag with the caramel sauce and very gently penetrate the cupcake with the piping tip and squeeze in a little of the caramel sauce. Boom! You’ve just made caramel filled cupcakes…alright!
Brewed Coffee
Since this cupcake is all about coffee, of course it needs to be added into the batter. Now, the type of coffee used is again totally up to you. But, if you’re interested in a strong coffee taste, we suggest using a bold dark roast coffee. The same goes for a weaker coffee taste, simply using a blond/light roast coffee. Espresso Powder, is added to achieve the strong coffee flavor. In order to make espresso powder, use a food processor and grind it up.
Fat & Eggs
In this recipe we used unsalted butter, instead of oil. In order to prevent an oily mess hahaha. For some extra moisture to the mini cupcakes we used sour cream. Instead of using sour cream you could swap it out for plain Greek yogurt or buttermilk. Lastly, to keep everything together eggs are used. The egg is simply used a binding agent.
The Coffee Buttercream
I’m a strong believer that the frosting has to be as good as the cake/cupcake itself. Through much trial and error we found the right method for an amazingly sweet coffee flavor. To make this buttercream, you’ll need to use the Swiss Meringue method. But I will say, if you’re a die hard Italian Meringue member…this recipe works with that method as well. Check out the recipe below to know the ingredients and instructions.
Jump to RecipeAlright, let’s talk about this coffee flavor. As stated earlier, we have tired different ways of incorporating coffee into the buttercream. From using espresso powder to brewed coffee to concentrated coffee. The winner of this battle was concentrated coffee. So, your next question might be how do you make concentrated coffee? Glad you asked, it’s a really simple process. Just take about half a cup of instant coffee (or espresso power) and add about 3 tablespoons of hot water (add more if needed). The consistency should be very thick like a combination of pudding/syrup.
Concentrated coffee is used instead of brewed coffee because of its liquid content. If a regular cup of coffee is used for this buttercream, the buttercream will become a soupy mess. In order to avoid this from occurring, please use concentrated coffee. Also, when adding the concentrated coffee into the buttercream, make sure to add in a little amount at a time. In addition, have a whisk on hand and slowly whisk together the coffee and buttercream.
Interested in more cupcake recipes? Check out the links below.
- One batter…3 Mini cupcake flavors
- Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
- Keto Chocolate Cupcakes
- Funfetti Cupcakes
- Lemon Cupcakes
- Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Vanilla Cupcakes
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Caramel Frappuccino Mini Cupcakes
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup Unsalted Butter softened
- ¾ tsp Baking powder
- ¼ cup Brewed Coffee
- 2 tbsp Sour cream
- 3 tbsp Caramel more for the drizzle
- ¼ tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp Espresso powder
- ¼ cup Dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 Large egg room temperature
- ⅓ cup Cake flour
- ⅓ All-purpose flour
For the Coffee Buttercream
- 1 cup Unsalted butter softened
- 3 Large Egg Whites room temperature
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- Instant Coffee concentrated
Instructions
Caramel Frappuccino Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a mini cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Sift into a bowl the all purpose flour, cake flour, kosher salt, espresso powder, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a bowl of an electric mixer, mix together the unsalted butter and sugar. Continue to mix until fluffy and pale (approx. 2 minutes). Next add in the egg. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure all the ingredients are well combined.
- In a measuring cup add the brewed coffee, vanilla extract, and sour cream. Mix well. Alternate between adding the dry ingredients and wet ingredients into the bowl of the electric mixer. Continue this process until all ingredients are added.
- Fold the caramel into the cupcake batter. Mix well. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full with the batter. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Coffee Buttercream
- Add water to a medium sized saucepan and heat over medium-low heat. Next, add the egg whites and granulated sugar to an electric mixer bowl. Place this mixer bowl over the saucepan filled with water.
- Whisk constantly until all the sugar is dissolved. To check, rub the mixture between your finger-tips. If it feels like sand, the sugar is not fully dissolved yet. Continue to whisk. Once the sugar dissolves and the mixture appears to be opaque white remove from the heat. (If the mixer bowl is hot to the touch, allow the bowl to reach room temperature before continuing).
- Transfer the bowl to the stand of your electric mixer. Using the balloon attachment, whisk the eggs whites and sugar at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Turn up the mixer to a medium-high speed and fluffy-up the buttercream 1-3 minutes. Next, add the vanilla extract.
- In a small mason jar, add the instant coffee with a small amount of boiling hot water. Seal the jar with the lid and shake it up until a strong coffee syrup is reached. Slowly, whisk in the coffee syrup into the buttercream (small amounts at a time until satisfied with the taste).