Recipe: Milky Way Cupcakes

Part of being a foodie is the preparation of food, so I figured I’d use this site to document the recipes I come up with.  I am always thinking of new concepts for cupcakes and a few months ago I decided to turn my favorite chocolate bar into a cupcake.  Thus, Milky way Cupcakes were born!  I’ve been playing around with various “plain” cupcake recipes  to doctor up with different candies and flavors and I found one I love.  I use the same “plain” batter for my cookies and cream cupcakes and I have also altered it slightly to make fruit flavored cupcakes.  These cupcakes consist of pieces of Milky Way candy bars and they’re topped with a decadent caramel frosting.  To say this cupcake is sweet would be quite an understatement.  Below you’ll find the recipe along with my photos of the process.  Feel free to comment on where I could improve and also let me know how it turns out if you decide to try it out on your own!

“Plain” Cupcake Recipe: 

1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup milk

***Add 8 little bars or 2.5 regular sized bars to the mix for the Milky Way cupcakes.

Mix Butter & Sugar in a large bowl.  Stir each egg into the mixture, making sure the first is fully incorporated before adding the second egg.

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder & salt in a separate bowl.

Since I don't drink milk, I keep several cans of evaporated milk on hand for recipes that require milk.  Alternate mixing the dry ingredients with the milk into the sugar mixture.  Stir until fully blended.

The Best Part: Milky Ways!

I used my cutting board to chop the miniature Milky Ways into smaller pieces.  

Mix the chopped Milky Way pieces into the batter.

The cupcakes are ready to go in the oven.  Bake at 350 for 16-18 minutes.

 Caramel Frosting: 

This recipe I obtained from allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/caramel-frosting-i/Detail.aspx)

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons milk

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

**I use this recipe as a base and then add more milk and powdered sugar, alternatively, until I get the texture and amount of frosting I need.

Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Add the milk after the butter has fully melted.

Add the brown sugar to the heated mixture and bring to a boil for approximately one minute.  Remove the brown sugar mixture from the heat and add the powdered sugar and vanilla.  Continue alternately adding powdered sugar and milk until  you achieve the desired texture and amount of frosting you need.

Milky Way Cupcake!