Dulce de Leche Cupcakes
Vanilla sponge with a creamy caramelized milk filling makes these dulce de leche cupcakes the perfect sweet treat! They’re topped with a silky cream cheese frosting swirled together with more dulce de leche. Ready from start to finish in under an hour, you’re going to love this easy recipe.
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (120g)
- ¾ cup (scant) granulated sugar (140g)
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- pinch salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature) (40g)
- ½ cup milk (120ml)
- 1 egg (large size)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup dulce de leche (for filling)
Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese (full-fat brick-style) (224g)
- ½ cup unsalted butter (115g)
- 3 cups powdered sugar (360g)
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ cup dulce de leche
Instructions
Dulce de Leche Cupcakes
- Heat oven to 325°F (170°C) and line a 12-hole cupcake tin with paper liners.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter and beat with the paddle attachment until it's combined. It should be a sandy consistency.You can also use a handheld mixer to make these cupcakes.
- Gradually pour in half the milk and keep mixing until combined.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk the eggs, remaining milk and vanilla together and pour into the flour mixture. Continue mixing until smooth but be careful not to overmix.
- Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners and bake on the middle rack for 20 - 25 minutes until lightly golden.
Fill the cupcakes
- Let the cupcakes cool completely before you fill them.
- Use a small paring knife to cut out small holes in the middle of each cupcake and fill with a small spoonful of dulce de leche. You can either top the filling with the piece of cupcake you cut away or you can frost right on top of the filling.
Make Frosting
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the attachment beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy.
- Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes until combined.
- Put spoonfuls of cream cheese frosting in a line across the middle of the plastic wrap leaving a few inches at both ends.
- Put spoonfuls of dulce de leche right beside the cream cheese frosting.
- Put spoonfuls of dulce de leche right beside the cream cheese frosting.
- Carefully roll the plastic wrap over the frosting and dulce de leche and then grab the ends of the wrap and slowly twist them together. Think of the shape of a Christmas cracker or a wrapped candy. That’s what you’re aiming for.
- When you’re ready to frost, snip one end off of the plastic wrap and put the open end into the bottom of a prepared piping bag fitted with a frosting tip. I use a 1M.
- Now just squeeze the bag just as you would when frosting a cupcake. You’ll see the frosting starts to come out in a beautiful, swirled pattern.
Notes
The cupcake recipe was adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook by Tarek Malouf (Ryland Peters & Small, April 1 2009)
Notes
- Room temperature ingredients. It will be so much easier to mix your cupcake batter together if the eggs, butter, and milk are at room temperature. You also want the cream cheese and butter to at room temperature before making the frosting.
- Test for doneness. Your cupcakes are ready when the tops spring back after you press them lightly with your finger. You can also insert a toothpick into the centre of a cupcake and if it comes away clean, they’re done!