These Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cupcakes are made with a moist chocolate cupcake and a chocolate caramel cream cheese frosting! Top it off with a drizzle of salted caramel and a turtle chocolate candy for a simple and fantastic treat!

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Woo, woo another cupcake recipe! And one more coming next week! A friend of mine asked me to make these a few months ago, and I’m finally ready to share it with you guys! 

Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cupcakes

If you’re madly in love with the combination of chocolate and caramel (I mean, who isn’t?) these chocolate caramel turtle cupcakes are a must make! Perfect moist chocolate cupcakes topped with the silkiest chocolate caramel cream cheese frosting!

Here’s the thing, even though these are Turtle Cupcakes, no pecans were used in this recipe. The reason is that my friend and her family absolutely despise pecans, and since these were for them, I decided to leave them out. 

I would’ve simply called them “Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes” or “Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting” but I didn’t think of that until after I shoved those Turtle chocolates into the top and took a million photos. 

Even though I didn’t add pecans, that doesn’t stop you from adding them. So go ahead and garnish the tops or sides with as much chopped pecans you want for a true Turtle flavoured cupcake! 

Moist Chocolate Cupcakes

The base of this recipe is the same as my favourite go-to chocolate cupcake recipe. They’re super moist, fluffy and chocolatey and best of all, they only require 1 bowl to make! I love them! 

To make the cupcakes, add the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk. Then mix in the wet ingredients, and lastly add the boiling water or hot coffee to enhance the chocolate flavour and soften up the texture. 

Salted Caramel Sauce 

You’re gonna wanna make the salted caramel sauce at least a day ahead so it can cool completely, because if the caramel is too hot, it’ll mess up the texture of the frosting when added. 

It’s best to check out my Salted Caramel Sauce post for more detail on how to make the caramel. You can also use my regular Homemade Caramel Sauce recipe which uses what we call the “wet method” to make the caramel, then add salt to make it salted. 

Chocolate Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting 

For the frosting, I took my amazing Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting recipe and slightly modified it to add some cocoa powder to make it chocolate flavoured!! This frosting is incredible enough to eat with a spoon!

To make it, beat the butter, cream cheese and shortening together, then add half of the powdered sugar and all of the cocoa. Once that’s mixed in, add some of the cooled salted caramel sauce and the rest of the powdered sugar. 

And yes, you will need about 7 cups of powdered sugar. That is if you want the frosting to be pipeable. If that’s not a concern, you could add less sugar. 

You can leave the cupcakes like that, or you could drizzle the remaining caramel sauce on top and garnish with a Turtle chocolate candy! And as I mentioned above, I had to leave out the pecans, but you could sprinkle on chopped pecans if you want. 

The final cupcake has the perfect amount of chocolate and caramel flavour with a kick of cream cheese! The chocolate cupcakes are like fluffy little clouds and the frosting just melts in your mouth, and added pecans would provide such a lovely crunch! 

I’d love to know how these turn out for you, so if you make this recipe or any other recipe of mine, come back and leave a comment down below to tell me how they turned out!

And don’t forget to take photos and tag me on Instagram @queensleeappetit or use the hashtag #queensleeappetit so I could see your gorgeous creations!

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Let’s get baking!

Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cupcakes

Yield: 19 cupcakes

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

These Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cupcakes are made with a moist chocolate cupcake and a chocolate caramel cream cheese frosting! Top it off with a drizzle of salted caramel and a turtle chocolate candy for a simple and fantastic treat!

Print

Ingredients

• 1 recipe of my Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

Chocolate Cupcakes:

• 1 and 1/2 cups All purpose flour
• 1 and 1/2 cups granulated Sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large Eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup Vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup hot coffee or boiling water

Ganache:

• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Chocolate Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup hi-ratio shortening (or regular vegetable shortening)
• 7 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup Salted Caramel Sauce, cooled completely

Garnish:

• Extra Salted Caramel Sauce
• 8-10 Turtle Chocolates, cut in half
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Prepare one recipe of my Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce. Pour it into an airtight jar and allow it to cool completely or chill in the refrigerator overnight.
   

For the Chocolate Cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C), and line a standard 12-cup cupcake pans with paper liners. Line a second pan with 7 liners. This recipe makes about 19 cupcakes.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine.
3. In a measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Add boiling water OR hot coffee and mix until combined and smooth. Batter will be runny.
4. Scoop batter into cupcake liners, filling them ⅔ way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
5. Remove cupcakes from oven and allow to cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely. Meanwhile, make the ganache.
   

For the Ganache:

1. Put the chocolate chips into a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat the heavy whipping cream in a small saucepan until it just begins to simmer.
3. Remove hot cream from heat and pour it over the chocolate. Cover the bowl and allow it to sit for 5 minutes.
4. Remove cover and stir ganache until smooth. set aside to cool.
   

For the Chocolate Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the butter, shortening and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
2. Gradually add 3 cups of powdered sugar, then mix on low until combined. Add cocoa powder and mix until combined.
3. Add caramel sauce and beat until completely smooth and combined.
4. Slowly add remaining 3 cups of powdered sugar and beat on low until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue to beat for about 2-3 minutes until smooth and fluffy.

Assembly:

1. Spoon ganache onto each cupcake.
2. Fit a piping bag with a large star tip, then pipe a swirl of frosting onto each cupcake. Drizzle with remaining salted caramel sauce.
3. Garnish with a Turtle chocolate candy and chopped pecans, if desired. Serve and Enjoy!

Notes

• Store cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
• If you chilled the caramel in the refrigerator overnight, microwave it for about 30-45 seconds until it softens up enough to stir and pour. Make sure it’s not too hot.
• As I mentioned in the post, I made these for a friend who dislikes pecans, which is why you don’t see any on my cupcakes. I still included them in the recipe incase you want to add some yourself.

Recommended Products

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  Ateco Plastic Coated Decorating Bag, 18-Inch
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  KitchenAid Ultra Power 5-Speed Hand Mixer (Emp Red)
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  Standard Size White Cupcake Paper/Baking Cup/Cup Liners, Pack of 500
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  Wilton Recipe Right Nonstick 12-Cup Regular Muffin Pan (2, STANDARD)

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BON APPÉTIT!

Love, Dedra

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