Easy Gourmet Cupcakes: Salted Caramel Pecan Spice

It's fall y'all! I know I did a lot of complaining about attack of the pumpkins a couple months back, but I actually adore fall. The weather is so very awesomely awesome. I love the excuse to eat soup every day, enjoy a mug of creamed tea in the middle of the afternoon, and live in my favorite sweater. Ahhhhhh, fall.

Enter in, my Easy Gourmet Salted Caramel Pecan Spice Cupcakes. You'll fall in love with fall baking with this easy cupcake recipe.

These Salted Caramel Pecan Spice Cupcakes have fall baking written all over them.

This delectable cupcake has all the best things about fall going on in it - warm autumn spice, toasted pecans, salted caramel. Although, salted caramel is a year round kinda flavor. Don't ya think?




A box of spice cake mix, a couple of cups of pecans, and a can of dulce de leche are the star ingredients in this easy fall recipe.

Doctor the cake mix by adding an extra egg, subbing whole milk for the water, subbing melted butter for the oil, and then doubling the amount of butter. Scoop about 1/4 cup into each muffin cup and gently press in some pecans.

Toasted pecans adorn the tops of fluffy spice cake in my Easy Gourmet Salted Caramel Pecan Spice Cupcakes.

The nuts get toasted to perfection while the cupcakes bake.




To make the salted caramel buttercream, beat 3 sticks of butter, 1 cup of dulce de leche, a teaspoon and a half of vanilla, and a teaspoon and a half of salt.




Then, beat in 3 cups of powdered sugar.




Scrape down the bowl and beat in another 3 cups of powdered sugar.




Scrape down the bowl again and beat the buttercream for 3 minutes.



This salted caramel buttercream is softer than most of the frostings and buttercreams I usually work with. But it's oh so creamy and fluffy. Think marshmallow cream - but with all the flavor of perfectly sweet and perfectly salty salted caramel.

Btw, any leftover buttercream can serve as a fabulous dip for sliced apples.

The spice cake is so tender and packed with warm autumn flavors. The pecans are nutty and crunchy with just a hint of sweetness. The buttercream is fluffy beyond belief and exactly the flavor you imagine when you think "salted caramel." We've got ourselves a real fall goodie with this cupcake, folks.

Happy fall baking!

Easy Gourmet Salted Caramel Pecan Spice Cupcakes
(Makes 24 cupcakes)

INGREDIENTS
For the cupcakes:
15.25 oz box spice cake mix
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup whole milk
4 large eggs
* These ingredients are based on a cake mix that calls for 3 eggs, 1 cup of water, and 1/2 cup of oil. I added an extra egg, subbed whole milk for the water, and subbed melted butter for the oil, and then doubled the amount of butter.

2 or 3 cups of pecan halves to press into the cupcake batter before baking

For the buttercream:
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dulce de leche
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp salt
6 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cupcake pans with 24 cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients for the cupcakes and mix well using a hand mixer, whisk, or wooden spoon. The batter should be smooth.
3. Scoop a scant 1/4 cup of batter (or use a size 20 cupcake scoop) into each liner.
4. Gently press 4 to 6 pecan halves onto the top of each cupcake.
5. Bake cupcakes for the time recommended on your cake mix box for cupcakes. Check them at the earliest time by inserting a toothpick into the center of one of the cupcakes near the center of the oven until it comes out clean.
6. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then remove them to cool completely.
7. For the salted caramel buttercream, beat the butter, dulce de leche, salt, and vanilla until creamy and well combined.
8. Scrape down the bowl and beat in 3 cups powdered sugar.
9. Scrape down the bowl again and beat in 3 more cups powdered sugar.
10. Scrape down the bowl and beat buttercream for 3 minutes.
11. Snip off one corner of a Ziplock freezer bag a little smaller than your piping tip. Slide in your piping tip and set bag in a tall cup to easily fill with buttercream.
12. Twist the top of your bag closed and pipe frosting onto each cupcake.