Bourbon Brown Butter Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Frosting

My husband and I are currently renting a charming farm house complete with big red barn, open fields enclosed by crumbling stone walls and trees with the occasional cow passing through.  It’s peaceful, park-like, and pretty much perfect for us right now.  The caveat?  There is (or should I say was…) no driveway.  It was fine driving up the grassy hill to our back door during the summer but fall and winter have dealt us quite a bit of rain and our beautiful backyard slowly turned into a mud pit 😦  Our wonderful landlord came to the rescue this past weekend though to “lay a driveway”.  Apparently our dear landlord doesn’t know anyone who frequently wears heels because a large shale path is now center stage of what once was our (ok, fine-his) unadulterated lawn.

I was pondering all these things while tip-toeing over the gravel when naturally my mind wandered to food.  (There is no correlation, just for me, pretty much every thought turns to baking at some point.  I really just needed to whine a little about my poor backyard.)  I wanted caramel.  Specifically I wanted gooey, buttery caramel sauce dripping down the side of my spoon a dessert.  It had to be different though-I didn’t want to go the latte route or the salted caramel route, I really wanted to re-create a caramel flavor in the actual cupcake, so after much tip-toeing and more pondering, these came to mind.

Brown butter with the addition of brown sugar.  The batter tastes like caramel, once it’s baked the flavor lightens significantly but you’re still left with an incredibly moist cupcake with a sophisticated depth of flavor that you can’t quite put your finger on.  I made them in minis and full-size-you can’t go wrong with either but I do prefer the minis because you get enough of all the flavors in one bite.  I added just a touch of bourbon so that it wouldn’t over-power, just add to that depth.  They were then generously frosted with creamy vanilla bean frosting and drizzled thoroughly with caramel sauce.  Heaven. in. a. bite.  I cannot lie, I ate most of them.  Seriously, run, don’t walk, to your kitchen and make these!!

Bourbon Brown Butter Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Frosting
Yields approximately 36 mini cupcakes or 12-15 standard size cupcakes
Cupcakes are a purple spoon original, caramel sauce recipe from The Tasteful Life 

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 stick of butter

1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick/4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons bourbon, optional

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used salted this time for a sweet/salty touch-yumm!)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup sugar

Directions:

1. For the caramel sauce: Heat the heavy cream in the microwave or stovetop just until hot to the touch.  Place the 1 cup sugar in a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat.  Whisk and allow it to melt and bubble until it turns an amber color.  Quickly whisk in the 1/2 stick of butter and then whisk in the cream until fully incorporated.  Pour the sauce into a container to cool to room temperature.

2. For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F) and line a cupcake pan with liners.  In a small bowl whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

3. To brown the butter: melt the 1/2 cup of butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Continue cooking, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter stops foaming and browned bits start to form at the bottom and the butter has a nutty smell, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and pour into a medium size bowl.  Whisk in the brown sugar and then the eggs one at a time and vanilla.  Add half the flour.  Whisk in the milk and then whisk in the rest of the flour.  Whisk in the bourbon if using.  The batter is very thin and it may have a few lumps-whisk the lumps to smooth out a bit but the cupcakes will be just fine.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the liners (I use a half-tablespoon measuring spoon for the mini-cupcakes and a quarter cup measuring cup for the standard size).  Bake mini cupcakes for 10 minutes and standard size for 16-18 minutes or until the tops bounce back by touching them and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes in their pans before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.

5. For the frosting: Place the 1 cup whole milk in a small saucepan.  Sprinkle the flour over the milk, 1/4 cup at a time and whisk until smooth.  Place the saucepan over low heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes thick and pulls into a ball.  Remove from the heat and place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the mixture and tuck around it to make sure there are no exposed parts.  Refrigerate until cooled to room temperature or colder (at least 30 minutes).

In a large bowl, cream the butter.  Add the cooled flour milk mixture and beat until well blended.  Mix in the vanilla.  With the mixer on medium speed, gradually add the sugar and then continue to beat the icing for an additional 10-12 minutes until noticeably whiter and creamy.  Pipe onto the the cupcakes, and then drizzle with the caramel sauce.  Store covered at room temperature for up to 2 days.