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I’m telling you right now that these are the best things since sliced bread.

Really.  Go get some sliced bread.  Then go whip up a batch of these cupcakes.  Then come over to my place so that we can discuss them over a cup of tea.

And by cup of tea I mean that I am going to stuff you full of hot water so that there will be less room for cupcakes in your belly, thus leaving more cupcakes available for my belly.

Really.  I think about things like this.

Picnik collage

I’m also telling you that you should have multiple garbage bags available while making these cupcakes.

Six, to be precise.

Because if you’re going to hide from your roommates just how many sticks of butter are in these babies.  And thus are going to take it upon yourself to take out the trash after every stick.  You are going to need six bags.

You should also probably leave one butter wrapper in there.  For legal purposes.

By which I mean that, you wouldn’t necessarily want to purport these to be healthy cupcakes.  That would be a misrepresentation.  But, I mean.  What someone doesn’t know won’t kill them.  Or clog their arteries.  That’s some good biology right there.

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But what about you.  The baker.  Who knows the name, age, marital status and sexual history of every tbsp of butter that went into these.  What about your arteries?

You didn’t think I would leave you hanging, did you?

Well.  You can do what I did, which was a set of jumping jacks in-between each step.  Interspersed with some bicep curls using the bag of flour as a dumbbell.

So now, if I’m doing the math right.  Cupcakes + workout = healthy cupcakes!  Yeah?  Right?

I thought so.

If you like what you see here at Eats Well With Others, please head on over to Foodbuzz and vote for me to be the next Project Food Blog Star!  You can find my entry to challenge #3 here.  Remember, you have 100 votes for this round, so I would really appreciate it if you would make Eats Well With Others one of them!

ALSO another fun note.  I’m hosting a CONTEST over at MarxFoods with some AWESOME prizes.  You guys should all run over, check out the details, and think about entering!  Here’s the link.

ALSO ALSO.  I haven’t had a modicum of time to even think about posting the Regional Recipes round-up yet.  But I’m going to announce the next country anyway.  In case you haven’t noticed. It’s October.  And you know what happens in October?  OKTOBERFEST!  Um, yeah.  We are headed to GERMANY!  Please email me your entries by October 31st!
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Caramel Macchiato Cupcakes
Makes 16, adapted from Food Mayhem 

2 1/2 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup strongly brewed coffee
1/4 cup milk, I used fat free
1 tbsp bailey’s irish cream (original recipe calls for kahlua but I had this on hand)
12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
6 large egg yolks (save the egg whites for the frosting!)
1 rounded tsp instant espresso

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Line 16 cups of two muffin tins with cupcake liners.

2. Measure out your dried goods into a bowl – flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a separate bowl, mix together the coffee, milk, and bailey’s/kahlua.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer using a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy – about 5 minutes.  Mix in the egg yolks, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition,

4. Pour 1/3 of the flour mixture into the stand mixer and mix until just combined.  Add in half of the coffee mix.  Repeat with another third of the flour and then the remaining coffee.  Finally, add in the rest of the flour.  Do NOT overmix!

5. Divide the batter in half.  To one half, add the 1 tsp instant espresso.

6. Divide the batter with the instant espresso in it among the cupcake liners.  Top this off with batter from the un-espresso-ed batter.  Put in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Let them rest in the pans for ten minutes, then remove to a wire rack.  Let cool COMPLETELY before icing.

Caramel Italian Meringue ButtercreamMakes…a lot, adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
5 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into tbsp (I just cut it into tbsp as I added it to the bowl of the stand mixer).
4 tbsp caramel plus extra for drizzling purposes

1. Combine 1 cup sugar and the water in a non-reactive saucepan.  Boil until they reach a temperature of 245 degrees.  In the meantime start the meringue.

2. Whip egg whites with a wire whisk in a stand mixer on high until soft peaks form, about 1-2 minutes.  Sprinkle in 1/4 cup sugar.  Beat for another minute, or until incorporated.

3. Slowly pour the hot, 245 degree sugar/water mixture into the bowl of the stand mixer with the mixer still on high.

4. Beat the frosting for 7-10 minutes or until the outside of the stand mixer bowl has cooled down to room temperature.

5. Beat in the butter by the tbsp.  Cry because you have just added four sticks of butter to your frosting.  Rejoice because you have just added four sticks of butter to your frosting.

6. Pour in the four tbsp caramel.  Mix for about a minute.  Frost cooled cupcakes, drizzling caramel over the top.

NOTE – On my first bite, I found these to be a little sweet and lacking depth.  So I CAREFULLY sprinkled a modicum of sea salt to the top of them.  Gloriousness ensued.  I was told by one Miss Sophie that this made the cupcakes for her.

This is my submission to this week’s Hearth and Soul!
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You are reading this post on Eats Well With Others at https://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of Eats Well With Others. All rights reserved by Joanne Bruno.
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101 Responses to Caramel Macchiato Cupcakes with Caramel Italian Meringue Buttercream and a Hint of Sea Salt

  1. Barbara says:

    Coffee + Irish Cream + caramel? Fabulous!

  2. That is too funny…I have often said the same thing…workout WHILE eating for a net/net calorie intake! Let’s start our own fitness/cooking show!

    These are over the top and yes, what one doesn’t know before consuming is always better!

  3. Girl, that is WHY I work out! So I can eat! But I also do it to stay sane… or do I eat to stay sane, and only work out so I can live past the age of 40?? 🙂 These look amazing, like everything else you make!

  4. Simply Life says:

    wow, nice work – these are sooo impressive!

  5. Hannah says:

    Oh, my, I think I’m drooling! A caramel macchiato is my kind of dessert/drink, and here you’ve made it even better… those cupcakes have looks that could kill! 😉

  6. Thanks for sharing this recipe – these cupcakes must be so fantastic! It’s a terrific combo!

  7. I am twice your age Joanne so am doing two sets of jumping jacks in-between each step interspersed with some 3 sets of bicep curls using 2 bags of flour as dumbbells:D

  8. janet says:

    oh my. butter! ack.
    this is when the gym is your best friend. 🙂
    they are gorgeous though and i am sure they tasted great.

    As well, I love Germany as your pick for RR. I will see what recipe I pick. 🙂

  9. Nelly says:

    Good LORD that is a lot of butter. Fortunately, I am in love with butter, especially when I make it myself. Now, to find a place that sells fresh cream by the gallon…

  10. Vivienne says:

    wow looks decadent…i recently made cupcakes with grapeseed oil and wished i had used loads of butter instead 😛
    good luck with round 3 – hope you advance to the next 🙂

  11. Giovanna says:

    Oh my goodness girl, these are absolutely begging to be eaten!
    In my opinion, if you eat one while briskly walking on a treadmill with ankle and wrist weights on, I’m sure that there will be no calories ingested what so ever! Love them : )

  12. I believe you, I believe you about everything!! The butter, oh my, the butter. Yes, I’m repeating myself. That way I can get 2 of these. Or 22.

    I have 2 year old twins around me shouting CUPCAKES, CUPCAKES. The only thing I would have to do is make them pink and they would be completely sold!

  13. Oh wow. These look amazing! Love the hint of salt. And yes, of course, a few jumping jacks make these healthy… right.

  14. sweetlife says:

    love these, i spotted these babaies from the party post…yummy…perfect for grown ups, which means I get more. lol
    sweetlife

  15. Cristie says:

    I do believe these cupcakes may take me over the edge today. They are beautiful. I haven’t made Italian Meringue Buttercream for months, but yours is done so well and it’s calling to me . . . lovely. Well done. Perfect.

  16. Joanna says:

    Hells yes, those sound amazing. And my husband will be thrilled that the next country is Germany. That means sausage, so he’ll help me make some, but first he’ll have to buy me the attachment for the Kitchen Aid. Woohoo! So many bonuses.

  17. brandi says:

    I entered – the contest sounds so fun!

    and these cupcakes sound amazing. My sister loves Caramel Macchiatos, so she would adore these.

  18. I’ll be sipping that tea sloooowly to leave lots of room for these babies! There’s everything to love in this recipe!

  19. Mo Diva says:

    i asked santa for a stand mixer… when i get it im gonna make these… and will be sure to warn about the paula deen amt of butter.
    Thanks for what you said yesterday. I dont feel bad about not making it. To be honest, i was releieved- deadlines freak me out. and I will be better prepared next year!
    the talent among all the competitors is insane! Im so proud of you for making it and know you are gonna kick culinary ass!

  20. elra says:

    I feel like having one right now 🙂

  21. Faith says:

    I barely have words to say how excited I am about these cupcakes! I’ve only tried Swiss Meringue Buttercream but I’ve been meaning to try the Italian version…and now I have the perfect recipe to do so! And I would LOVE your recipe for Marshmallow Frosting, it sounds fantastic too! Thanks Joanne!

  22. Tiff says:

    These sound so wonderful that I seriously want to cry!! Beautiful job, and I love the workout plan 🙂

  23. Xiaolu says:

    The sprinkling of salt is a great idea. That IS a heckofalottabutter but it sure looks and sounds worth it.

  24. Monet says:

    Joanne. Please stop. These are too good to share without warning. I’m supposed to be working on a paper for my literature class, but now all I want to do is make these cupcakes. I’m drooling all over my keyboard. Thanks for sharing…the salt idea is brilliant! And you have my vote, love!

  25. Ameena says:

    Sea salt really brings out the best in every dessert – I firmly believe it is a necessary ingredient when baking! It looks delicious!!

    I have to go to work right now and all I want to do is stay home and make cupcakes. 🙂

  26. Kristin says:

    You were not lying about the butter. I would have to go for a run right after I ate it just to make myself feel better. These look heavenly though.

  27. This is luscious in the full sense of the word.

  28. I don’t eat sliced bread–my motto is: “If it’s sliced and in plastic it stays on the grocery store shelf”. However, I can tell by looking at these cupcakes (and knowing how much butter is in them) they are some kind of delicious!! A winner!!

    Best,
    Bonnie

  29. Kim says:

    Those are some glorious and decadent cupcakes! I’m loving that drizzle of caramel and the sprinkle of sea salt. I always use salted butter or add a little salt in all my desserts. Seems to give them that little extra something.

    I voted for ya!

  30. Satya says:

    wow those cupcakes looks delicious n love the icing on top of it …yummy

    Satya
    http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

  31. Swathi says:

    Cupcakes are gorgeous, even though frosting can cause heart attack.I would love to try them.

  32. Amy says:

    Well, you already know how I feel about these gems. And what’s a cupcake if it’s not loaded with butter…doesn’t that just make it a sad muffin? 😉

    I seem to be rationalizing all my desert intakes right now (which should be none) with how much sweat I’m releasing from the Insanity workouts. I have a feeling my before and after pictures aren’t going to be very impressive.

    p.s. a bonus post later this week for my anniversary. More sweets I’m not supposed to be eating. This is brutal.

  33. Deborah says:

    I’m not a coffee lover, but these sure do look delicious!!!

  34. Katerina says:

    They look very sophisticated and delicious. I love your presentation too.

  35. Victoria K. says:

    I’m telling you right now, that you are completely right about sliced bread vs these cupcakes! Sliced bread, totally overrated! I think I’ve become desensitized to using butter after culinary school. We would use 1 lb blocks of butter instead of the traditional sticks… your life just changes after that. And probably shortens too.

  36. Brenda says:

    These look amazing!! Absolutely gorgeous. I can only imagine how they taste. I so want one (or two…) right now!

  37. That Girl says:

    Meh – how often do we really eat cupcakes? Not enough to worry about the butter content. Especially, as I like to remind the hubs – the butter is DIVIDED between all the cupcakes. So it’s not like you’re really eating 12 Tbsp.

  38. girlichef says:

    Awesome. Definitely healthy if you combine them with exercise!! Holy shit, is that how you spell exercise? Excersize. Exsercise. Anyway. I’ve always had trouble with that world. Go figure… Yum! And hooray for Germany and OKTOBERFEST!! Thanks for sharing it with the hearth and soul hop this week, Jo!

  39. Sharon says:

    Gorgeous photos! I too am guilty of hiding those butter wrappers…

  40. Gosh Jo jo! You are making me so hungry! I adore the thought of mocha java infused cupcakes, but I would probably have eaten your whole bowl of buttercream frosting! Thanks so much for sharing this culinary delight on the hearth and soul hop this week! Hugs! Alex@amoderatelife

  41. Thanks for linking to the Hearth and Soul hop, and good luck in PFB. I’m pretty sure I’d need an extra trash bag to disguise the fact that I’d eaten the full recipe by myself. Or would that cancel out the need for all of the other trash bags? Hmmm.

  42. Megan says:

    These look gorgeous! I have made some pretty tasty caramel and white chocolate cupcakes…but adding in Irish Cream AND coffee sounds like it takes the (cup) cake. Yum!

  43. Well thank god there is fat free milk in the recipe

  44. Stella says:

    Oh Joanne, I am way too hungry to be looking at these cupcakes. The caramel and sea salt sound too decadent together. Yum!
    Ooh, and I will check out your Marx Foods contest too…

  45. Jess says:

    I bought a 5kg bag of flour and carried it home from the supermarket (it says “pantry pack” on it but I always read it as “party pack” which I think is much better) so I think I burned off enough energy doing that to allow me to eat everything I make with the 5kg bag of flour. Right? RIGHT?

    Sprinkling salt on things is just wonderful. I started sprinkling salt on any madeleines I make and it kind of transformed them into mighty little cakes of awesomeness rather than quite nice little cakes.

    Apparently you can cut down the bitterness of things by sprinkling salt on them. Like if your coffee is too bitter, put a pinch of salt in it. Sounds gross but apparently it works. I read a paper about it too and they were like, this is weird because it’s not like the salt blocks the bitterness receptors in any way – the salty and bitter sensations have different neural pathways. So at some point in the insular cortex I think, there are neurons responding to salt in a way that inhibits the neurons responding to bitterness. I don’t know, they can only really do this in macaques, so it’s just an educated guess for now…

  46. Debbie says:

    Those cupcakes with the frosting look like heaven. They just look fantastic! Where in the world do you find the time to do all you do??? You must have a ton of energy! Pleeeze send me some!

  47. Christy says:

    I think these might need a little more butter. Just sayin’! LOL what a great and decadent treat. I wish I was a roommate! Thanks for linking this up to the Hearth and Soul Hop!

  48. Natalie says:

    seriously can you invite me to your dinner party next time? i’m drooling over here!

  49. Pam says:

    Excuse me. I must wipe the drool off of my keyboard.

  50. Dana says:

    One of my most hated dessert making tasks involved buttercream. I just find it so finicky and hard to work with. But, of course, I love the end product. The fact that you made buttercream for cupcakes is pretty ambitious and awesome! I think a sprinkling of sea salt makes everything taste better.

  51. OMG – these look over the top divine. You are lucky that we are separated by about 5000 miles, Otherwise I would be round there hammering on your door to get at these little babies 🙂
    Sue

  52. aipi says:

    The name itself is so exotic I couldn’t wait to read through..the end result looks like it came out of a professional bakery !

    US Masala

  53. vanillasugar says:

    i am so with you on these. you speak my language girl! LOLOL!!

  54. Reeni says:

    These are not only crave worthy but just might cause swooning! I do the same thing – hide the butter wrappers. Seriously – sometimes it’s alarming how much butter goes into cake! I’m off to check out your contest.

  55. tigerfish says:

    I was just reading on sweet and salty popcorn and your salt on caramel buttercream cupcake just did magic!

  56. wowww!!! LOVE the idea! drooling all over those cupcakes!

  57. Chris says:

    I like the way you think about exercise making everything okay! Gimme more cream and butter, it’s okay, I worked out.

  58. Icing on the cake is just so beautiful…very lovely cup cakes…

  59. Love these caramel macchiato treats. The more butter the more attractive for sure. Display those empty wrappers proudly…I would!

  60. They look gorgeous and decadent.

  61. Oh u can stuff me with all the flavrd hot H2O u want and i will STILL have lods of place in my belly for more and more and more……
    [n id lov to think mre dan u:-),hope dat makes u happy coz it comes as a compliment-for ur cupcakes, ur creations, and ur creative abilities dat are always super delicious]

    And am totally on the same page with u about the healthy cupcake formula, i am, good things in life are to be enjoyed and then there is workout…lol

    Oh the sticks of butter, lemme add, u also pic them urself and dont ask anybody to:-))
    Any special sea salt u use?
    and wntd to email u to ask u if the BIP arrvd or no?/
    i need to 4lw dem otherwise:-(

  62. I don’t know how you do all this stuff and still have time to be a medical student. You’re amazing. And your dinner party is stunning. The shine on pork chop sauce make my mouth water. Good luck on the next round.

  63. MaryMoh says:

    Haha…just love your cupcake equation!! I’m learning more Maths here 😀 Love your cupcakes. When comes to good food, biology doesn’t exist in my vocabulary 😛

  64. daphne says:

    ooo WHAT A TREAT! soo soo soo tempting. Good food = happy means healthy right? 🙂

  65. I fully agree, these are healthy cupcakes! I would even be ready to do some kind of workout to eat some of them… or at least have some of the caramel which is dripping…

  66. Amazing. Unbelievable. Perfect.

  67. Kristen says:

    Those cupcakes turned out so pretty. With all of that butter, I bet they slid down pretty easily! YUM!

  68. Dawn says:

    Love it with the sea salt. Anything with the salty sweet thing going on makes me weak in the knees.

  69. RamblingTart says:

    Oh. My. Word. Joanne, these are to die for!! 🙂 I love your happy willingness to force such decadence upon us. 🙂

  70. sra says:

    Drip. Drip. Drip. Drool! Gorgeous cupcakes. Really don’t think the workout can cancel that kind of evil! 🙂

  71. katy says:

    LOL! I agree — sliced bread has nothing on these! Wow, they look fantastic!

  72. Love the touch of salt! yuuuuum

  73. Elizabeth says:

    Yay — I thought I was alone in hiding the butter wrappers. After getting serious grief from butter-phobic relatives, I now bake Xmas butter cookies in the dark of night and dispose of the evidence before my guests arrive.

    The old adage is true: “Too much butter is just enough.” Fantastic cupcakes!

  74. Eliana says:

    You should have started this post with a Food Porn warning. I can get in trouble for looking at good this gorgeous at work.

  75. Mo says:

    Sometimes, a little bit (*cough* a lot *cough*) of butter is good thing. 😉

    These look wonderful, and anyone who really thinks sliced bread holds a candle to your cupcakes is clearly clinically insane. 🙂

  76. I love love love cupcakes. I find them, cute and fun and delicious!!
    Thanks for visiting my blog today.

  77. Beth says:

    Sounds yummy! I made salted caramel and salted caramel buttercream today for my Snickers Cake…Salt+Caramel= best combination ever!

    Thanks for visiting my blog…the Cream Puffs were SUPER easy…try them sometime!

  78. Claudia says:

    These are too good to be true. And making them,
    would doubtless result in my eating too many for my own good.

  79. S. says:

    Oh my goodness. Hello, gorgeous!

  80. Lori says:

    I think you know this already but WOW- those are fantastic! You have to win with that one! Delish! Amazing. Yum.

    And no, you’d have to work out A LOT for those to be healthy cupcakes. 😉 But they just might be worth it.

  81. Caramel, coffee, Bailey’s, yes, these will do nicely. Don’t even mention the butter, just send these to my house right away!

  82. Dear oh dear! I’m drooling over these… in front of my computer. It’s a little sad, actually. But they just look so darn fantastic!

  83. OohLookBel says:

    Fabulous combination of flavours, and I’ll never say no to salted caramel!

  84. How I love caramel. These are amazing.
    So, um, here I just posted my roundup of my authentic Oktoberfest recipes and now I see this! Can I still do it.
    voting now…you’re doing great, Oh Wonder Woman!

  85. Beth says:

    Those are gorgeous cupcakes. And I love the idea of working out between each step of the recipe! So efficient!

  86. vialentino says:

    thanks for ur condolence wishes …

    nice cup cake … love ur recipe and ur information shared out here…

  87. Jamie says:

    You only live once and these should be baked and indulged in at least once as well. Fabulous!

  88. Sanjeeta kk says:

    Lovely cup cakes, great decoration.

  89. Karly says:

    Ah, butter. My BFF. These look delicious!

  90. That’s quite a bit of butter and quite a few egg yolks you have there! I usually just close my eyes for the entire process and pretend that I don’t know what happened to all the butter and eggs. These look delicious! I love that you added sea salt too!

  91. Marisa says:

    Oh my! Why am I only seeing this delightfully evil recipe now? Damn you google reader, damn you.

  92. naomi says:

    Artery clogging? Gotta love it and well worth it. Yum! Good think my sister is a doctor and your are soon-to-be, so your roomates will be in good hands.

    I don’t know how you are getting this all done, while going to school. But you are blogging hero, Girl!

    Headed over to Food Buzz vote for you now. Good luck!

  93. You’re killing me with these! They look sooooo good!

  94. Wow! These look and sound great! I am smiling at the warnings over the butter, yet you used fat free milk 🙂

    And, after a few experiments, I may start adding salt to a few of my cupcakes, for added depth.

  95. These are definitely one of the most delicious cupcakes I’ve ever seen!

  96. Sarah says:

    I came here looking for a recipe that I could share with others. *shakeshead* Looks like I’ll be hoarding these instead! 😀 They “read” and look delicious! Going to give them a go for a fun party. And, who cares about the butter? As long as it doesn’t taste like powdered sugar and Crisco…gah!

  97. Heather M says:

    I love caramel macchiatos so I obviously would have to love these. Too many yummy fall recipes I need to be making.

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