Gluten Free Salted Caramel Walnut Cupcakes

If you love the combination of sweet and salty, then these Gluten Free Salted Caramel Cupcakes are definitely for you. The decadent flavors of buttercream frosting combined with homemade salted caramel sauce on top of a vanilla cupcake come together to form a sweet and buttery treat. These cakes are light, fluffy, and full of flavor. Best of all? They’re gluten free!

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

210 grams Gluten Free All Purpose Flour (about 1 1/4 cup, depending on your flour blend)

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 eggs

3/4 cup light cream

1 tbsp . vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp . baking powder

1/4 tsp . kosher salt

For the Caramel Sauce

1 cup white sugar

6 tbsp . unsalted butter , at room temperature, cut into pieces

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp . kosher salt

1/2 tsp . vanilla extract

For the Buttercream Frosting

4 cups confectioner’s sugar

1 cup unsalted butter , at room temperature

1 cup caramel sauce

3 tbsp . cream cheese

1 tsp . vanilla extract

US Customary – Metric

Additional Topping

Gluten Free Pretzels (optional)

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.

For the Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or add liners to cupcake pan and set aside.

Using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, beat together butter, sugar, and vanilla.

Then beat in eggs until combined.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture slowly until fully incorporated.

Slowly add cream until all ingredients are fully mixed together.

Add batter to cupcake pan evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.

When cupcakes are completely cool, pipe frosting on top and garnish with a gluten free pretzel (optional) and an additional drizzle of salted caramel.

For the Caramel Sauce

In a large pot, add sugar and cook over medium-low heat.

When sugar begins to melt, stir constantly until completely liquid and it begins to turn caramel-brown.

Carefully add butter and continue to stir. This will rapidly bubble and rise slightly.

Once butter is melted, slowly add cream and vanilla extract.

Stir in kosher salt and remove from heat to cool to room temperature before using in buttercream.

For the Buttercream Frosting

In a stand mixer (or with an electric hand mixer) beat together butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract. Slowly sift in sugar while still mixing.

When sugar is fully incorporated, add (cooled) caramel sauce. Beat for a few additional seconds to fully incorporate caramel sauce.

Recipe Notes

Be very careful when working with hot sugar. For the caramel sauce, use a bigger pot and long spoon.

Download Recipe Here