Black Magic Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream

Birthday gifts can be a tricky thing. Because of that, we’ve unintentionally settled on themes in our house. You know the type. Becoming pseudo-famous for a particular style of gift? For a couple of years, my husband went through a “buy your wife beautiful purses” phase. True story. I get compliments on my handbags all the time and can claim absolutely no credit.

On the other hand, I am a birthday baker. I subscribe to the theory that most of us have enough stuff. What we don’t always have is a really good excuse to eat something sweet and delicious and made just for us. So I bake.

To be fair, if you’ve earned a few more laugh lines over the last year, you might as well celebrate properly.

In the case of my wonderful friend Tasha’s birthday, the directive was clear. She loves caramel. According to her husband, who provided very specific input, any form of caramel is welcome. Just not caramel apples.

Done. I happen to have a deeply rich chocolate cupcake recipe that deserves nothing less than a stellar salted caramel buttercream on top. Aptly named: Black Magic.

I never claimed to contribute to birthday diets. Around here, birthdays also involve plenty of wine, so at least no one is going down in this ship alone.

The Cupcakes

I’ve had a surprising number of people tell me that homemade cupcakes seem complicated. I get it. That box mix in the baking aisle can look awfully tempting.

But this recipe uses things most of us on hand and is essentially a two-bowl situation. Well… two bowls, a measuring cup, and a coffee mug. But you’d need the measuring cup even if you grabbed the box.

You’ll hear plenty of advice about sifting dry ingredients. Here’s mine: use a fork.

Seriously. Stir it around, break up any clumps, and call it a day. In our house, this duty can very entertainingly be passed to my four-year-old. He treats the fork like an excavator and scoops the dry ingredients around in the bowl. This comes complete with sounds, if you really want to do it right.

Once your butter and sugar are fluffy, pause the mixer. In a large measuring cup, combine buttermilk and vanilla. Add the eggs and whisk them together. The same fork works just fine.

With the mixer on low, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients. I usually do half the liquid, half the dry, and repeat. Once combined, slowly add the coffee and melted chocolate mixture in two additions.

The Salted Caramel Buttercream

A quick note: I am not a super-sweet frosting person. I’ve always backed away from buttercream recipes that call for four or five cups of powdered sugar. I prefer something balanced.

For this frosting, I use two sticks of softened butter and two cups of powdered sugar. Cream those together until fluffy. Add caramel sauce and vanilla, and beat until smooth and light. Use whatever caramel sauce you love. The caramel adds sweetness and depth, so we don’t need to overdo the sugar.

Pipe it on if you’re feeling fancy. Spread it with a knife if you’re not. Either way works. For good measure, drizzle a little extra caramel over the top of each cupcake.

Because when someone you love says, “I love caramel,” you don’t hold back. You turn it into frosting, swirl more over the top, and maybe even decorate the plate with it. Not because you have to. Because that’s how we celebrate around here.