Chocolate-Bourbon Cupcakes
Fluffy, rich chocolate cupcakes filled with pools of vanilla-bourbon salted caramel and topped with a creamy chocolate buttercream. These Chocolate-Bourbon Cupcakes are sure to impress your friends and family, and are perfect for every occasion (or just your everyday, let's be honest lol)!
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dutch-process cocoa powder*
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp instant coffee
For the Vanilla-Bourbon Salted Caramel
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
- 3 Tbsp bourbon
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
For the Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl until combined.
- Add the oil to the dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Add both eggs and the vanilla, and whisk until combined.
- In a small bowl combine the milk and sour cream. Microwave 15 seconds or until warm. Stir in the instant coffee until dissolved.
- Add milk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Fill each cupcake liner 2/3-full and bake 16 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcakes comes out clean. Cool completely on a rack.
For the Vanilla-Bourbon Salted Caramel
- Heat cream, vanilla pod, and vanilla seeds over medium-high heat in a small saucepan; bring to a simmer, remove from heat, stir in bourbon, and set aside.
- Combine sugar, water, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan or high-walled skillet over medium-high heat; stir to combine. Cook, without stirring, 8 to 10 minutes or until 1-inch of the outer edges of the sugar begin browning.
- Begin gently swirling the sugar around the pan and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until the entire pan of sugar turns a deep-amber color.
- Remove the vanilla pod from the cream mixture and slowly whisk cream into caramel sauce. Continue simmering mixture until smooth, another 2o to 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat, whisk in butter and salt until smooth. Transfer to a container and cool completely.
Notes
*Look for cocoa powder that has "alkali" as an ingredient. This means that it is Dutch-process cocoa powder.
You can find my recipe for Chocolate Buttercream here. You'll just need 1 batch of this buttercream to top the cupcakes with!