Chocolate Toffee Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting (video)

One of my favorite cupcake flavors – these chocolate toffee cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream are out of this world delicious! These rich chocolate cupcakes are made with crunchy toffee bits and more chocolate chips, my favorite buttercream, topped with more toffee and a drizzle of my ‘Homemade Caramel Sauce’. I’ve had this recipe on my website  for years and I finally got around to updating the recipe and making a video for you! This recipe will make 24 regular cupcakes or 48 mini cupcakes.

Watch the Cupcake Video!

Watch my video recipe for easy, step-by-step instructions on how to make these chocolate cupcakes! You’ll love how easy this recipe is! Want to receive new recipe emails in your inbox? Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and turn on notifications!

How to Make: Chocolate Toffee Cupcakes

I start this recipe off with a version of my ‘Perfect Chocolate Cake’ recipe. This is the same chocolate cake recipe I use for most of my cake recipes! It’s a no-fail, easy and very rich chocolate cake made with melted chocolate chips (which add moisture to the cake) and Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder. Using two types of chocolate makes the cake extra rich and chocolatey! To finish off the batter, I add in crunchy toffee bits and more chocolate chips! You can buy these Heath Toffee Bits (Amazon Affiliate link), or buy regular toffee and crush it into small bits.

Salted Caramel Buttercream

And nothing beats chocolate and caramel, so I used my ‘Salted Caramel Buttercream’ recipe to frost these Chocolate Toffee Cupcakes! I love this buttercream because it has so much flavor! I have a separate video recipe for this frosting so make sure to check out the recipe page and watch how it’s made! Make sure your cupcakes are completely cooled down before frosting them, otherwise the frosting will melt right off! I like to take the cupcakes out of the pan and let them cool on a wire rack.

Garnishing the Cupcakes

To garnish the tops of these chocolate cupcakes, I use more toffee chips and my favorite, homemade caramel sauce. I also have a separate video recipe for this amazing sauce! It’s a great addition to this recipe and so easy to make, requiring just 6 ingredients! If you don’t have time to make your own caramel, a store-bought version will also work great!

More Recipes!

Enjoyed this delicious dessert recipe? Check out some other options I have on my site!

• Cappuccino Coffee Cupcakes – delicious coffee cupcakes with coffee buttercream!
• Raspberry Lemon Surprise Cupcakes – delicate vanilla cupcakes with lemon curd filling and raspberry buttercream!
• Strawberry Basil Cupcakes – unique flavor alert! Berry cake topped with basil buttercream!
• Dreamy Coconut Cupcakes – the ultimate coconut cupcakes, with fluffy meringue buttercream!

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Chocolate Toffee Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting (video)

30 minutes mins prep + 20 minutes mins cook

24 servings

Rich chocolate toffee cupcakes with caramel buttercream frosting and crunchy toffee bits!

Ingredients 

US Customary – Metric

For Chocolate Cupcakes:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 tbsp instant coffee
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup toffee chips
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

For Caramel Buttercream:

• 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 14 ounce can dulce de leche
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp fine salt, adjust to flavor
• 2 to 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 cup toffee chips, for garnish
• Homemade Caramel Sauce, for garnish

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 24 regular cupcake tins with paper liners, or 48 mini cupcakes tins; or do a combination of both. For the cake batter: In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter and sugar. Whisk on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until the butter is light and fluffy. Add in the melted chocolate and whisk again for about a minute until it’s well combined. Add in the eggs and vanilla and whisk again for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the batter is very smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl often to ensure everything gets well combined.
• Warm the milk in the microwave for about a minute, just until it’s lukewarm, then add in the instant coffee and stir until the coffee is dissolved. Add the coffee milk into the batter but do not stir just yet; let it stand. Meanwhile, prepare the dry ingredients: combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in small bowl and mix together. Sift the dry ingredients into the cake batter, then mix on medium speed for 1 minute, until a smooth cake batter forms.
• Fold in the toffee chips and chocolate chips by hand last. Using a measuring scoop or spoon, fill the cupcake liners almost to the top, about 3/4 full. Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for 24 to 25 minutes for regular size; about 20 minutes for the mini cupcakes. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting them!
• For the Caramel Buttercream: Place softened, unsalted butter into mixing bowl. Whisk on high speed for about 5 minutes, until butter is light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl often to get all the butter mixed well. Add the dulce de leche (cooked sweetened condensed milk). If you cannot find dulce de leche, use a similar caramel sauce. If necessary, increase the amount of confectioner’s sugar to thicken the frosting.
• Add the vanilla and salt. Start by adding 1/4 teaspoon salt, then add more if needed. Begin adding the confectioner’s sugar 1 cup at a time, scraping down sides of mixing bowl often to get everything incorporated. Make sure to sift confectioner’s sugar before adding to avoid any clumps. After adding all sugar, whisk on high speed for 2 to 3 minutes to get frosting very fluffy.
• Transfer the frosting into a pastry bag tipped with a star tip; I used Ateco tip #829. Pipe generous dollops of cream on top of each cupcake and garnish with more toffee chips and a drizzle of caramel sauce, if desired. Cupcakes can stand at room temperature for 24 hours; I recommend refrigerating them overnight. If refrigerating, allow the cupcakes to warm at room temperature for 1 hour before enjoying again.

Nutrition

Calories: 456kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 104mg | Sodium: 202mg | Potassium: 138mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 890IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 2mg