Chocolate Turtle Cupcakes
These chocolate turtle cupcakes begin with moist chocolate that's topped with homemade salted caramel and roasted pecans. Inspired by classic turtle candies, they're rich, decadent, and impressive for any occasion!
Equipment
Ingredients
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon water
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter room temperature
- ⅓ cup heavy cream room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoon salted caramel
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup roasted pecans chopped
Chocolate Ganache
- 5 tablespoon water
- 2 ½ tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch fine sea salt
Chocolate Cupcake Batter
- 1 cups cake flour *See notes below for measuring*
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar packed
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 tablespoon cubed unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream room temperature
- 1 whole large egg room temperature
- ¼ cup whole milk room temperature
- 2 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup hot coffee
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder
Instructions
- To make the caramel, heat sugar and water in a heavy pot over medium heat until it boils. Push, don't stir, the sugar as it colors for even cooking. When it turns amber, remove from heat and quickly add the butter, then the heavy cream and salt. The caramel will bubble, so be cautious. Stir until smooth and transfer to a heat-proof jar to cool completely before use.
- Prepare the chocolate ganache by whisking cocoa powder, sugar, water, vanilla, and salt in a small pot. Bring it to a boil over medium heat, then simmer for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Pour into a bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap, and let it cool.
- In a stand mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix in the cubed butter on low for 3 minutes until it resembles coarse sand.
- In a bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. In another bowl, whisk together the hot coffee and cocoa powder.
- Add the egg mixture and coffee/cocoa mixture to the bowl. Mix on low until just combined. Scrape the sides and bottom to ensure thorough mixing.
- Scoop the batter into the lined cupcake pan, ¾ full. This is best done with a cookie scoop because the batter is thin and can be messy to work with.
- Bake the cupcakes for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out covered in a few moist crumbs. Let the pan cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove the cupcakes and let them finish cooling on the rack before frosting.
- Finish the caramel frosting. Cream the butter with the paddle in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Then mix in the powdered sugar on low. Once combined, mix on medium speed until light and fluffy. Mix in the caramel, heavy cream, and salt until combined.
- To create the caramel swirl buttercream, fit a piping bag with a large round tip. Dip a skewer into the cooled caramel and drag it along the inside of the bag from the tip upwards to create a thick, straight line of caramel. Do this 3-4 times along the inside of the bag. Fill the bag with the caramel buttercream.
- When you pipe the buttercream, you should have swirls of the caramel in the frosting. Spoon the chocolate ganache over the top, then sprinkle with roasted pecans, and more caramel if desired.
Video
Notes
*Measure your flour properly. This is my #1 baking tip! Do not ever scoop a measuring cup into your flour as this always leads to using too much flour. Instead, use the spoon-level method. This means fluffing the flour first, then spooning it into your measuring cup/spoon. For the BEST results, use a kitchen scale!*
To store, keep turtle cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Before serving, let them come to room temperature. Alternatively, they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days.
To freeze, store the cupcakes frosted or unfrosted in an airtight container for up to 1 month.