Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes!

Chocolate Carmel Cupcakes!?!?! Yes please! I saw this recipe on pinterest and I just had to try it. Who doesn't love chocolate and caramel???? The original recipe is from bakeitinacake.com and you can find it here: Chocolate Carmel Cupcakes This recipe calls for Fran's Salted caramels... they were a little on the pricey side and I was also short on time to actually order them. So, I found an alternative... Milky Way Simply Carmel! (In the bite size) It actually worked out great and these little babies turned out AWESOME!!! Check out the bake it in a cake website too for other great cupcake ideas! This recipe was great and I thank them for it!!!!

Here's what I did:
This recipe will make about 3 dozen.

For the brownies you’ll need:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
2 c. granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. salt
1 c. flour
about 36 bite-sized Milky way simply caramel
A little kosher salt
Mini cupcake foil-lined baking cups

For the buttercream you’ll need:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
15-20 caramels ( I used kraft)
2 T. heavy cream
2 c. powdered sugar
kosher salt

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees (F).
To make the brownies, melt together the butter and unsweetened chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl on high heat for 90 seconds. Remove it from the microwave and stir until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
Add in the sugar, and stir until it is well combined. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla and salt. Finally, stir in the flour.
Put a teaspoon of brownie batter into paper-lined mini cupcake tins. They should be about half full. I scooped the batter into a big zip-top bag and cut off one of the bottom corners to make a piping bag and it worked out great! Put one caramel in each tin, sprinkle with a little salt, then cover with another teaspoon of batter so the tins are about 3/4 of the way full.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until the brownies have set. My oven cooks FAST, so mine only needed like 12 mins. They will give a little when you gently press your finger into the top of them, but they should not be too soft.
Allow to cool, then make the buttercream!
First, melt the caramel with the heavy cream. You can pop it in the microwave for 30 second increments, until the caramel is smooth. Allow it to cool in the fridge for a few minutes.
Whip the butter for about 30 seconds on med-high speed, so it gets fluffy. Add in about one cup of powdered sugar, and mix until it’s all combined. Once the caramel is cool to the touch, turn the mixer on medium speed and then drizzle the caramel into the frosting. If it’s too hot, it’ll melt the buttercream, so be patient.
Beat until fluffy. Then add in the other cup of powdered sugar and the salt, a 1/4 to a 1/2 t. at a time, mixing and then tasting after each addition to make sure you don’t add too much. A little goes a long way with the salt. Once it tastes the way you want it to taste, frost the cupcakes!
Grate a few chocolate shavings over the top. Fancy! You can also drizzle a little more caramel on the top but make sure it is not too hot... maybe try caramel ice cream topping for this.

Give these a try and come back to let me know what you think!!!!
Enjoy!