| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Prep: | 45 min |
| Inactive: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 24 servings |
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 7 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup malted milk powder (such as Carnation)
- 3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups half-and-half
- 1 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
Instructions
- Make the frosting: Sprinkle the sugar evenly in a large skillet and add the corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring once or twice. Continue to boil, swirling the pan but not stirring, until the caramel is amber. Carefully pour in the heavy cream (it can splatter) and add the butter. Simmer, whisking constantly, until the caramel is smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Combine both chocolates and the salt in a medium heatproof bowl. Pour the hot caramel over the chocolate and let stand until melted, about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth and shiny, then cover and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours or overnight. (The frosting can be made up to 2 days ahead.)
- Make the cupcakes: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Sift the malted milk and cocoa powders into another bowl.
- Beat the sugar and butter in a third bowl with a mixer until light and fluffy, about 7 minutes. Add the malted milk powder mixture and beat until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the half-and-half in two parts, beginning and ending with flour.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cups, filling each about three-quarters of the way. Bake until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool in the pans 10 minutes, then transfer the cupcakes to racks to cool completely.
- Beat the chilled frosting with a mixer or whisk until thick, about 2 minutes, but don’t overwhip. Spread on the cupcakes or transfer to a pastry bag with a star tip and pipe on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve, then sprinkle with the cereal.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 24 servings |
| Calories | 372 |
| Total Fat | 24 g |
| Saturated Fat | 14 g |
| Carbohydrates | 38 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 26 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Cholesterol | 88 mg |
| Sodium | 206 mg |
Reviews
I can bake these cupcakes for a bake sale or my birthday!
I loved these cupcakes, and I really love the frosting. I’ve been making caramel quite a bit lately, and one thing that has helped me is to heat the cream before adding it to the melted sugar. I didn’t have any problem with the caramel seizing, and it was smooth by the time I had cooked it for two minutes. I was a little concerned after chilling the frosting that the frosting hadn’t set, but then I remembered all the cream in the frosting would thicken after I beat it, and sure enough it beat up nicely. The rice krispies sound weird to me, but they added a nice crunch. I also added a piece of crunch bar as a garnish.
Nice chocolate cupcake, I love malt so I liked that. Little dry. Frosting is fantastic, thanks to bakinginseoul’s review I heated up the cream a little and beat the frosting after chilling and it was DELICIOUS. I think this is my go-to chocolate frosting. One note about the Rice Krispies – while we really liked them initially, the next day they were stale and not crunchy at all despite storing the cupcakes in a plastic container. So if you’re going to use them put them on right before serving.
I expected that this recipe would be easy and good, but I was wrong. The cake is good, but the icing is terrible. I followed all of the directions, and I ended up with a chocolate caramel drink. I am very disappointed.
All my friends like it. This is not a hard recipe for beginners! This is my first time start from scratch! It’s not hard, but a lot of things to buy!
I had the same issue as another reviewer while making my frosting – the caramel immediately seized up when I added the butter and cream – we’re talking totally hardened. But, sure enough, within about 5-10 minutes of continuing to stir, it softened back up and combined nicely. I made that last night and the cupcakes will be tonight…so I’ll let you know how it all turns out.
Yummy!!!
Best Chocolate cupcake recipe ever!!! The frosting sets up perfectly. Caramel and chocolate are perfect together!!!
I made these cupcakes for a family get-together and everyone really enjoyed them! My cousin told me that it was the best cupcake he ever had, and I think I’d have to agree. The frosting is what makes these especially delicious – tastes like toffee to me. I also cut this recipe in half to make about 12 and they still came out great!
These were heaven! I made them for a 5 year old’s birthday party whose favorite candy is Crunch bars. Although I don’t think they tasted like the candy (I don’t recall caramel being in Crunch bars) they were still yummy. The cake part is so light and fluffy and not overwhelmingly sweet. The frosting which I thought was too sweet on its own (too much caramel taste) balanced the cake out perfectly.
Note about the frosting: After you add the cream to the caramel, it will sieze and turn into a rock hard ball b/c of the change in temperature. This is OK, just keep whisking and slowly add more cream. The caramel rock will eventually melt and the sauce will be perfect…it took me about 15 minutes, longer than the reciep stated but well worth it.