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Vanilla Caramel Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

January 12, 2012

I just figured out my new year’s resolution.

Eat more cupcakes. I’m half kidding.

As I’ve been trying to eat healthier, I’m always on the look out for treats I can make naturally sweet. And because I just love cupcakes, they are always on my list of dessert projects. These little cakes are a sweet change from traditionally sweetened cupcakes.

They boast a lovely vanilla flavor with delicate caramel drizzles throughout the cake. Top it with a not-too-sweet, a bit unique vanilla whipped frosting. Without the use of cream cheese, this frosting is more of a classic vanilla taste. They pair lovely with these chocolate cupcakes, (yes two cupcakes is completely acceptable) or a large glass of milk. And they have an incredibly moist, melt in your mouth texture.

Naturally sweet and richly decadent makes these a treat I’ll be eating more of this year.
Please join me!


Vanilla Caramel Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting
Print Recipe
Vanilla Caramel Cupcake:
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
3/4 cup Powdered Honey
1/4 cup Coconut Sugar
1 teaspoon Molasses
3 Large Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1/2 cup Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt
1 teaspoon Pink Salt
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
scant 1 cup Milk
3 cups Spelt Flour or White Flour

In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment in place, beat together butter and powdered honey until fluffy. Add coconut sugar and molasses and mix until just combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix to incorporate. Beat in sour cream or yogurt. Add salt, baking powder and milk and mix well. Add flour and mix until just combined. In lightly greased muffin tins, fill each a little over 3/4 the way full. Bake at 350 for 16-18 minutes. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Frosting:
3 cups Heavy Cream
1/2 cup Butter, softened
1/4 cup unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1/2 cup Powdered Honey
2 Tablespoons Agave
2 Tablespoons White Flour
1 1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla
In a food processor or blender, blend coconut shreds until they form a rough powder. You’ll need to scrape the sides and blend for about 4 or 5 minutes. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Add soft butter and beat until well combined. Add coconut powder, powdered honey, agave and flour and beat until combined. Add vanilla. Add more or less flour depending on how stiff you’d like the frosting to be. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

Note: The coconut shreds give stiffness and a sweetness to the frosting, without giving a coconut flavor. I like the natural sweetness of the coconut in the frosting and how it helps keep the frosting white.You could substitute out the coconut shreds, but you will need to add more powdered honey (which effects color) or flour (effects sweetness), as the coconut helps stiffen the frosting. Or more coconut to reduce the other sweeteners, but make sure to blend very well so the frosting doesn’t become grainy. These ingredients can be experimented with to create a frosting you like best.

Yields 18 large cupcakes

PRINT RECIPE

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Filed Under: Cakes & Cupcakes

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Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    March 22, 2012 at 6:38 am

    Hi! I can’t find powdered honey here (Sydney, Aus), can I substitute it for agave inulin powder? I haven’t really used it before so I’m not sure how it would work..

    Reply
    • Annie @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

      March 22, 2012 at 2:27 pm

      If you can’t find powdered honey, I would maybe use xylitol if you can find that. What is agave insulin?! I’ve never heard of it! It sounds awesome! but if it’s a powder, I assume it would work great, I’ve just never tried it. You could also maybe try more flour and use a lot of stevia… Hope that helps!!

      Reply
    • Annie says

      March 22, 2012 at 2:30 pm

      Oh and make sure to powder your xylitol if you use that!

      Reply
  2. Annie @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

    February 13, 2012 at 1:29 am

    Hi Christy, I’m not sure what regular honey would do, since I haven’t tried it. I’d bet it would work okay, but you’d probably need to increase the flour. Another sweetener to try is maple sugar or simply use all coconut sugar. The only downside with using all coconut sugar is the cupcake will be darker in color and give a stronger caramel flavor. That would change the vanilla flavor, but will still be delicious! If you decide to use honey, please let us know how it turns out!

    Reply
  3. Christy says

    February 12, 2012 at 3:39 pm

    These look delicious! Is there anything i could use instead if powdered honey? We don’t have it here in Australia, could i just sub with liquid honey or would it change to texture too much?

    Reply
  4. Chelsea @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

    January 20, 2012 at 4:45 am

    Thank you Kath!! So happy you found us!

    Reply
  5. Kath says

    January 19, 2012 at 5:11 pm

    I just discovered your site via foodbuzz and I love it! Maple sugar is my new favorite sweetener, but I also like to use maple syrup and honey.

    These cupcakes look great! The coconut in the frosting is a great idea.

    Reply
  6. Kim @ Eat, Live, and Blog says

    January 15, 2012 at 8:48 pm

    I love your new year’s resolution! Mine is to eat more cupcakes too and yours in on the list. ;)

    Reply
    • Annie @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

      January 16, 2012 at 9:39 pm

      Thank you so much Kim! Hope you enjoy them. :)

      Reply
  7. Eftychia says

    January 15, 2012 at 2:32 pm

    I am so pleased you used yogurt in this recipe. I love yogurt and I use it almost everywhere.

    Reply
    • Chelsea says

      January 15, 2012 at 6:56 pm

      Yes, we love yogurt in recipes too. It makes things so moist! Thanks for the comment!

      Reply
  8. Hannah says

    January 15, 2012 at 1:30 pm

    How dainty and beautifully decorated! Caramel is one of my favorite things to make and eat- It just goes with everything.

    Thanks for the birthday wishes, by the way. :)

    Reply
  9. beti says

    January 15, 2012 at 4:05 am

    these cupcakes are perfect the caramel swirl seems like a pretty good icea and the frosting looks delicious

    Reply
    • Annie says

      January 15, 2012 at 6:05 am

      It definitely is! Thanks so much!

      Reply
  10. JenMarie says

    January 13, 2012 at 10:11 pm

    Your photos here are gorgeous! They look moist and fluffy and rich. I’m in!
    Oh, and I’ve enjoyed incorporating coconut sugar into our sugar usage in my household as well!

    Reply
    • Annie @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

      January 13, 2012 at 11:01 pm

      Thanks JenMarie! I’m so glad you’re liking coconut sugar. It’s one of my absolute favorite sweeteners!

      Reply
  11. Baltic Maid says

    January 13, 2012 at 7:03 pm

    These cupcakes are beautiful. And the naturally sweetened part sounds awesome. I’ll have to try these (as soon as I’ll get the powdered honey). Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Annie @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

      January 13, 2012 at 11:01 pm

      Thank you so much Baltic Maid! Hope you like them!

      Reply
  12. Antonia @ Health Inspirations says

    January 13, 2012 at 5:33 pm

    Hi! Thanks for stopping by my blog! Your cupcakes look amazing. Can’t wait to check out more of your recipes.

    Reply
  13. Heidi @ Food Doodles says

    January 13, 2012 at 4:53 pm

    Wow, these are so pretty! I love the tiny bit of molasses, I can just imagine that it doesn’t add too much flavor just a hint. Naturally sweetened treats like these always taste SO much better than anything overly processed anyways. I’ve never heard of powdered honey, where did you find that?

    Reply
    • Annie @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

      January 13, 2012 at 4:59 pm

      Hi Heidi!
      We have found powdered honey at a few different places. You can try finding it at your natural food store, often times it’s labeled as honey crystals or a similar name. But we’ve found the easiest and cheapest way to get it is online! We share our favorite places to buy powdered honey under our natural sweetener guide here: http://naturallysweetrecipes.blogspot.com/p/sweeteners.html
      Hope that helps and thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  14. Chelsea @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

    January 13, 2012 at 3:42 pm

    thank you totesmyoats!

    Reply
  15. totesmyoats says

    January 13, 2012 at 4:43 am

    Those cupcakes look heavenly!

    Reply
  16. Ashley @ My Food 'N' Fitness Diaries says

    January 13, 2012 at 3:35 am

    oh wow, these look deliciously decadent! yum!

    Reply
    • Annie @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

      January 13, 2012 at 6:07 am

      Thanks Ashley!

      Reply
  17. Char @ www.charskitchen.ca says

    January 13, 2012 at 2:05 am

    I love cupcakes!! *dies* And anything with caramel <3

    Reply
    • Chelsea @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

      January 13, 2012 at 2:13 am

      Thanks Char! Me too. :)

      Reply
  18. blissfulbritt says

    January 12, 2012 at 11:41 pm

    OHHH swwooonnn! These cupcakes look sososooo good!!

    Reply
    • Annie @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

      January 13, 2012 at 12:40 am

      Thank you blissfulbritt!

      Reply
  19. Made in Sonoma says

    January 12, 2012 at 8:47 pm

    I’d love to try a naturally sweet cupcake! They look amazing!

    Reply
    • Annie @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

      January 12, 2012 at 9:27 pm

      Thanks Made in Sonoma! They are definitely worth a try. :)

      Reply
    • Chelsea says

      January 16, 2012 at 7:23 pm

      We also have a chocolate cupcake recipes if you are more of a chocolate lover!

      Reply
  20. Annie @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

    January 12, 2012 at 8:00 pm

    Hey thanks Anna!

    Reply
  21. Anna @ The Guiltless Life says

    January 12, 2012 at 7:51 pm

    These are so pretty! I love that you used a mixture of sweeteners too. I bet they taste sooo sweet! Yummy :)

    Reply
    • Chelsea @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

      January 13, 2012 at 2:12 am

      Thanks for the comment Anna!

      Reply
  22. thesmartcookiecook.com says

    January 12, 2012 at 4:53 pm

    These sound sinfully sweet :) I love that it’s not just your same old boring vanilla cake recipe. There’s coconut sugar, powdered honey, molasses, and more.

    Reply
    • Annie @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

      January 12, 2012 at 8:15 pm

      Thank you so much! I particularly like the different sweeteners. They give great flavor!

      Reply
  23. Annie @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

    January 12, 2012 at 4:16 pm

    Thanks so much Shannon!

    Reply
  24. Shannon says

    January 12, 2012 at 4:14 pm

    Yet again another AMAZING recipe! Those cupcakes look wonderful!

    Reply

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Dessert obsessed & plant-based recipes lover. Hi, I'm Annie! Join me in living a natural & sweet life.

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