These Caramel Popcorn Cupcakes are a playful, flavour-packed treat that highlights caramel popcorn in every bite. Start with a light, caramel-spiked cupcake batter that includes finely crushed caramel popcorn. Finish by piping dulce de leche buttercream, adding a caramel filling if you like, and topping with extra caramel popcorn and a caramel drizzle.
Caramel Popcorn Cupcakes
If you love the sweet, buttery crunch of caramel popcorn, these cupcakes are made for you. The concept sounds unusual at first, and reactions often fall into three categories: excited, curious, or skeptical. I tested them on friends with those exact responses — the curious and excited tasters ended up loving them, while the skeptics missed out. Give them a try; the caramel-popcorn profile is subtle, nostalgic and delicious.
I used store-bought caramel popcorn for convenience, but homemade caramel popcorn works beautifully as well and intensifies the flavour. If you want to make your own first, you can — the homemade version adds an extra layer of freshness.
How to Make Caramel Popcorn Cupcakes
Rather than simply topping basic cupcakes with popcorn, I wanted the popcorn flavour to be present throughout the cupcake itself. That meant designing a batter with enough structure to hold fine popcorn crumbs and caramel flavour without becoming dense.
The batter starts by creaming butter and sugar until very light and pale — this step traps air and keeps the cupcakes fluffy. Dulce de leche (a thick caramel-like product) adds deep caramel notes and blends smoothly into the batter without making it runny. To keep the batter tender, add the dry ingredients and buttermilk in alternating additions: a portion of the dry mix, then part of the buttermilk, and so on.
Adding the Popcorn
Instead of folding in whole popped kernels, pulse caramel popcorn in a food processor until it becomes very fine crumbs. This preserves the popcorn flavour and caramel bits without unpleasant large pieces. Fold the ground popcorn into the batter; the caramel coating will dissolve slightly and create tiny pockets of caramel-sweet crunch in the finished cupcake. If you prefer an ultra-smooth crumb, sift the processed popcorn and discard any larger pieces.
Caramel Filling
For extra indulgence, core the center of cooled cupcakes and fill them with dulce de leche or a cooled salted caramel sauce. A simple coring tool or even a small spoon will do the job. Filled cupcakes are richer and offer a gooey caramel center that pairs perfectly with the buttery crumb and frosting.
Caramel Buttercream
I made a dulce de leche buttercream by adding dulce de leche to a classic buttercream base. You can substitute a cooled salted caramel sauce if you prefer a saltier profile, but note that thin caramel sauce can soften the frosting and may require extra powdered sugar to achieve a pipeable consistency. Always make sure any sauce you add is fully cooled before combining with butter.
Pipe generous swirls of buttercream on each cooled cupcake, top with a couple pieces of caramel popcorn, and finish with a drizzle of cooled salted caramel sauce. For best presentation and texture, consider removing the popcorn pieces and eating them separately to preserve the topping’s crunch.
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup sour cream, room temperature
- ½ cup dulce de leche
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 and ½ cups caramel popcorn, processed into fine crumbs (optional)
- For filling: 1 cup dulce de leche or cooled salted caramel sauce
- For buttercream: 1 and ½ cups unsalted butter (slightly softened), ¼ teaspoon salt, 5 cups powdered sugar, ½ cup dulce de leche (or cooled salted caramel sauce)
- Toppings: extra caramel popcorn and salted caramel sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line muffin tins with liners; this recipe yields about 18 cupcakes.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- Beat butter and sugar on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 3–4 minutes. Scrape the bowl.
- Add sour cream, dulce de leche and vanilla; beat until smooth. Lower speed and add eggs one at a time, mixing until just combined.
- Alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk: one-third dry, half buttermilk, half remaining dry, rest of buttermilk, then remaining dry. Mix after each addition until just combined.
- Pulse caramel popcorn in a food processor to very fine crumbs. Measure 1½ cups, fold into batter.
- Fill liners about two-thirds full and bake 16–18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare buttercream: beat softened butter and salt until pale and fluffy, add half the powdered sugar and mix on low. Add dulce de leche or cooled caramel sauce and combine. Add remaining powdered sugar gradually, then beat on medium-high 5–7 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Optional: core centers and fill with dulce de leche or cooled caramel. Pipe buttercream on cupcakes, top with popcorn and drizzle with salted caramel sauce.
Notes
- Store finished cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Use fully cooled caramel sauce in the frosting to avoid softening the buttercream.
BON APPÉTIT!
Love, Dedra
DID YOU MAKE A RECIPE?
Tag @queensleeappetit and use the hashtag #queensleeappetit so the creator can see your bakes.
© QUEENSLEE APPÉTIT. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use images without prior permission. If you republish this recipe, rewrite it in your own words or link back to the original post.