Caramel Macchiato Cupcakes
What's your favorite drink at Starbucks? I'm a sucker for a good Caramel Macchiato, iced or hot... but stirred, I like it when the milk is mixed together with the coffee... all that caramely goodness with whipped cream=divine. So, when I saw a recipe for Caramel Macchiato cupcakes, well, instant duh. I ABSOLUTELY had to...
What's your favorite drink at Starbucks? I'm a sucker for a good Caramel Macchiato, iced or hot... but stirred, I like it when the milk is mixed together with the coffee... all that caramely goodness with whipped cream=divine. So, when I saw a recipe for Caramel Macchiato cupcakes, well, instant duh. I ABSOLUTELY had to HAVE them in my life. End. Of. Story.
I loved everything about these cupcakes, the flavor, their pretty, little good looks, the light whipped cream frosting and of course, the Starbucks Caramel drizzled all over everything. The cupcakes had a great coffee based flavor and to enhance the caramel flavor, I added some caramel to the batter after it was spooned into the Bella Cupcake tins.
These would make a great gift for the Starbucks coffee lover in your life. I brought them to a family bbq and they were a huge hit with everyone! I'm always a happy girl when everyone else is happy with my cupcakes 😉 I hope you enjoy!
Caramel Macchiato Cupcakes (Recipe Adapted From: My Buttery Fingers)
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup strongly brewed coffee, cooled to warm
- ¼ cup milk
- 12 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 rounded teaspoon instant espresso (I used 1 packet of Starbucks Via Caramel Coffee)
- Starbucks Caramel
- Preheat oven to 350 F and line 12 cupcake tins with liners.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Combine milk and brewed coffee in a small bowl.
- In a standing bowl mixer cream together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time until incorporated.
- Reduce speed to low and add ½ flour mixture and then ½ of the milk mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining flour and milk to the batter and mix until incorporated.
- Add Starbucks Via Caramel coffee packet and mix lightly, just until the coffee is incorporated.
- Spoon in batter and drizzle each cupcake with a little bit of caramel.
- Bake cupcakes for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
The original recipe calls for Kahlua and cacao nibs, I didn't have either of those things on hand, so I just didn't use them. They still turned out delicious, but didn't have such a coffee color to them, if that's what you're looking for, then I would suggest getting the cacao nibs... maybe it will help.
Whipped Cream Frosting
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ cup confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Starbucks Caramel
- In a standing bowl mixer whisk heavy cream until soft peaks form.
- Add confectioners sugar to taste (not too sweet) 😉
- Mix in vanilla extract.
- Pipe Frosting onto each cupcake
- Drizzle with lots and lots of Starbucks Caramel
This frosting is sooooooooooo good and the perfect pairing for these Starbucks inspired cupcakes. I wouldn't be a good Pacific NW girl if I wasn't a Starbucks & coffee fan 😉 Hopefully you like these as much as we did!
Ps: Michaels had a ton of cupcake liners in their $1 bins at the front of the store the last time I was there. It's a little hard to tell in these pictures but these liners have hot air balloons on them! Soooo cute! I picked up 8 packets that are super fun and each packet has 75 liners and they were only $1.50... my kinda deal!
xoxo-Jenn
it is basically the same as yours, though. I love all of the wonderful flavor from the wine!calls for some whole tomatoes and heavy cream. Otherwise,
I made the Caramel Macchiato Cupcakes yesterday and they were sooooooo good!! I LOVE to cook, but I am NOT a baker. Mine were not anywhere near as pretty as yours. I filled the cupcake tins to the tippy top with batter so I had muffin tops all over the place, haha oops. I was really worried that it wouldn't turn out but sure enough I let the cupcakes cool, slapped on some frosting, and drizzled the caramel over the top and it was heaven in my mouth!!! I loved that the cupcake actually tasted like coffee and I loved the whipped cream frosting. I am going to make these over and over again, and one day I just might make them pretty too. 🙂 Thank you so much for this recipe!
Ya know... everything is better with frosting. 🙂 Glad you loved them!
I made these last week and they were amazing! I wrote down the recipe and plan on making them again thank you 🙂
These were soooooo good. Thank you for the recipe(:
YAY! I'm happy you like the recipe!
I made these cupcakes to celebrate my year anniversary at my dance studio. My instructor loves his caramel macchiatos, so I thought these cupcakes would be perfect. They were a HUGE hit. The whole staff loved them and couldn't believe I hadn't gotten them from a bakery. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!!!
Alison- I'm so happy these worked for you!! xoxo
how do you buy starbucks caramel?
Starbucks sells it in their stores! 🙂
Hello! I absolutely just love your recipes! Couple of questions! Will the whipped cream frosting melt sitting at room temp? Or could you make a swiss meringue buttercream and then drizzle it with the star bucks caramel? Would that taste just as good and like the drink? Thank you for all your help!
Hi Michelle! 🙂 Thanks for the compliment! xxoo The whipped cream frosting should stay at room temp for several hours and be okay. If you're going to make the cupcakes the day before I'd suggest keeping them chilled or making the whipped cream shortly before serving. I've never made a swiss meringue, so I can't say whether or not it'd be good. However, I know that Starbucks tops their drinks with whipped cream, so I can guarantee that will be delish!!! Happy Baking!
Hi again! I forgot to ask how full do you fill the liners? Thank you for getting back to me so quickly!
I typically fill liners 2/3 to 3/4 full. But I'd suggest filling two liners at two different amounts and baking them first to see what works best. I do this often with new recipes. That way, I don't waste a dozen cupcakes that don't bake up how I want them. Show me pictures when you're done Michelle!!!
I absolutely will!
I am trying to share my picture with you, but I don't see where to upload it or how to add it. If you could help, that would be great! Thank you!
Post it to my wall on Facebook!! I can't wait to see it!! xxoo
How many regular sized cupcakes does this recipe make?