Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with a Caramel Center and Cream Cheese Frosting

This recipe started in my head a few days ago.  I had been looking at old, old, Gourmet and Bon Appetite magazines and started combining different recipe ideas.  I had always wanted for some strange reason to boil a can of sweetened condensed milk and turn it into caramel but never had the guts to do it.  Visions of an exploding can and caramel all over the stove, floor and walls put me off.  But in one recipe I found in the Gourmet 2002 Christmas issue, there was an oven method that I jumped all over and I’m glad I did (it’s actually posted on the Eagle Brand website).  It took a while (a good 2 ½ hours to be exact) to get the right color and consistency but well worth it.  The taste is just soooo ridiculous delish especially after being stuffed inside a moist spicy flavorful cupcake (had to take a breather after that sentence) then topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting. The only other thing I could say as a possible improvement would be...sit down and let you’re your sweet tooth envision this...Double chocolate cupcakes with a caramel center and chocolate ganache frosting...check back for that recipe!  

Ingredients

Makes 15-18 cupcakes

3 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon salt

1 15-ounce can pumpkin

½ cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 ¼ cups vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel

For the caramel center:

1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk

Frosting:

16-ounces powdered sugar

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg together in a medium bowl.  Set aside.  Beat the oil, sugar, vanilla, and pumpkin on medium speed in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment – about 2 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until well incorporated.  Reduce speed to “stir” and add the flour, mix until the batter is smooth (the batter will be thick).  Fill each liner with approximately a scant ½ a cup of batter. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a tester inserted comes out clean and the cupcakes spring back when pressed lightly in the middle.  Cool on rack.  Can be made a day ahead, stored in an air tight container.

To make the caramel: 

Preheat oven to 425°F

Pour Sweetened Condensed Milk into a 9-inch pie plate. Cover with aluminum foil and place in a bain- marie (large shallow pan filled with hot water). Bake for 2-2 ½ hours or until thick and caramel-colored, whisking occasionally.  Cool completely before piping into cupcakes.

To make the frosting:

Beat the butter and cream cheese, and vanilla on medium until smooth using an electric mixer.  Slowly add the sugar (and I mean slowly or you will have a confectioners’ sugar cloud in the kitchen) and beat until incorporated and smooth.  Can be made one day ahead and stored in the fridge.  Let stand at room temperature until soft enough to spread.

To assemble cupcakes:

Using an apple corer or small paring knife, cut a small plug from the top of each cupcake, reserve the plug, and scoop out a hole in the center of each cupcake to hold the filling.

Transfer cooled caramel mixture to a heavy-duty re-sealable plastic bag, and seal; cut off one corner of the bag to make a 1/8-inch opening.  Place the tip in the cupcake and pipe in the filling to fill the hole.

Replace the plug and frost with cream cheese icing.  Dot top with additional caramel.

Comments

[Karen@Mignardise]

These sound insanely delicious!!!

[sally]

Hi Karen...oh, try them you will not be disappointed!