Caramel Macchiato Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes

These Caramel Macchiato Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes are a mouthful to say, but that mouthful is delicious! They’re incredibly moist and so full of flavor, they may be the best cupcakes I’ve ever concocted!

For another decadent dessert, you have to try my No Bake Nutella, Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Pie!

Caramel Macchiato Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes!

Caramel Macchiato Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes

You start by making a chocolate cupcake with espresso. And it’s not just any chocolate cupcake – it’s my favorite chocolate cupcake. And I don’t say that lightly.

Then drizzle some coffee glaze over the top of the baked cupcake. It’s not super coffee-y – more like a hint. Chocolate kind of covers up coffee flavors a bit. Which is why there’s a coffee glaze on top of the cupcake as well…bring it baby.

Caramel Macchiato Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes recipe

But before that comes the Nutella filling. Such a sweet, succulent surprise inside. The kind of surprise that makes you moan with delight. I heard it first-hand.

Top that with some of the best caramel icing EVER and then top that with the coffee glaze and you not only have a mouthful, but you have a party in your mouth, my friends.

Caramel Macchiato Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes!

The inspiration for these cupcakes from one of my favorite easy desserts to make – Caramel Macchiato Tiramisu Trifle with Nutella. It doesn’t look like much, but my goodness it’s moan-inducing. The flavor combination quite simply rocks. So I decided to cupcake-ify it.

The occasion was my co-worker’s birthday. There are only four of us in our office, so I like to make something for our birthdays. It gives me a reason to bake and someone to pawn it off on, so that I don’t have to eat it all – though I’d gladly have eaten all of these. This is the second year of the new tradition. Last year I made him this Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cake with Reese’s.

Caramel Macchiato Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes!

When I set out to make the cupcakes, I knew the caramel icing would be important to get right. I’ve made a couple caramel icings before, but I’ve never been totally satisfied with them.

This time I wanted to quite literally make caramel and add powdered sugar to it. How could you possibly mistake the caramel flavor when the icing’s made that way? I was a little short on time for experimenting though, so I went to one of my most trusted sources – Sally. I saw her Triple Salted Caramel Cupcakes earlier this year and have been dying to make the icing on them ever since.

Caramel Macchiato Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes!

I checked out the recipe to see how she made it and she read my mind (or maybe the other way around? 😉 )! Make caramel and add powdered sugar – just like I wanted! She’s brilliant, I tell you! And she makes the caramel with brown sugar, instead of white, which is my preferred way! I added a little more powdered sugar than I think she did, but only because I wanted it more pipable.

Caramel Macchiato Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes!

I know caramel can seem scary to make, but this recipe is pretty straight forward. If you follow the directions, it’s hard to screw it up. Really. Just don’t walk away from it. It only takes about 10 minutes to make, so stay with it and don’t let it burn.

Caramel Macchiato Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes!

So what do you think of the finished product? Pretty amazing if I do say so myself. I actually wish I still had one to eat right now…dangit.

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Caramel Macchiato Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes
Recipe

Caramel Macchiato Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 24 Cupcakes
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Description

These Caramel Macchiato Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes are a mouthful to say, but that mouthful is delicious! They’re incredibly moist and so full of flavor, they may be the best cupcakes I’ve ever concocted!


Ingredients

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 4 tbsp espresso powder
  • 1 cup boiling water

CARAMEL FROSTING

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
  • 2 cups light brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • 78 cups powdered sugar
  • 56 tbsp milk or cream

COFFEE GLAZE

  • 2 tbsp espresso powder
  • 6 tbsp warm water
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

ADDITIONAL

  • about 1/4 cup Nutella
  • chocolate sprinkles, for topping

Instructions

BAKE THE CUPCAKES:

1. Put all dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together.
2. Add eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil to the dry ingredients and mix well.
3. Add vanilla and espresso to boiling water and add to mixture. Mix well.
4. Pour into cupcakes pans and bake at 300 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.
5. When done, remove cupcakes from oven and cupcake tin and allow to cool.

MAKE THE FROSTING:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan.
2. Add brown sugar and heavy cream and whisk constantly over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
3. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 3 minutes, no more.
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
5. Transfer caramel to mixer bowl.
6. Mix in powdered sugar, beginning with 2 cups and increasing from there until you get the desired consistency. You can add a few tablespoons of cream to make the icing more creamy, if desired.

MAKE COFFEE GLAZE:

1. Dissolve the espresso powder in the warm water.
2. Add about 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar to the espresso and whisk until smooth. Reserve remaining powdered sugar for later.

ASSEMBLE CUPCAKES:

1. Core the center of the cupcake. (I used the smaller corer from this set that I found at Home Goods, but you can just use a knife if that’s what you have)
2. Spread about a teaspoon of coffee glaze over the top of the cupcake and inside the hole you made.
3. Spoon a large teaspoon of Nutella into the hole in the cupcake.
4. Icing cupcakes with caramel frosting.
5. Add remaining cup of powdered sugar to coffee glaze to thicken it. Whisk until smooth.
6. Drizzle coffee glaze over the caramel icing, then top with sprinkles.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 Cupcake
  • Calories: 531
  • Sugar: 74.2 g
  • Sodium: 229.6 mg
  • Fat: 21.5 g
  • Carbohydrates: 86.4 g
  • Protein: 3 g
  • Cholesterol: 44.9 mg

Keywords: chocolate cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes recipe, how to make cupcakes, best cupcakes recipe, homemade cupcakes recipe, easy cupcakes, easy cupcakes recipe

Filed Under:

Enjoy!

This post linked to Lil Luna, Six Sisters Stuff, Inside BruCrew Life, I Heart Naptime, Chef In Training, Tidy Mom, What’s Cooking Love?, This Gal Cooks, Wine and Glue, Buns in my Oven, Shaken Together, Pint Sized Baker, Simply Sweet Home, Mandy’s Recipe Box, Simple Living and Eating, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, Table For Seven, Living Well Spending Less, Say Not Sweet Anne, Lambert’s Lately, Simply Gloria, Walking on Sunshine, Ashley’s Dandelion Wishes, Gingersnap Crafts, The Mandatory Mooch, Clarks Condensed, Flour Me With Love, Recipes For My Boys, We Do Fun Here and A Peek Into My Paradise.

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No Bake Nutella, Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Pie

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Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cake with Reese’s

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65 Comments
  1. Heather

    This recipe looks awesome. Do you have any suggestion for making this cupcake boozy? I was thinking coffee liqueur but wasn’t sure if it would be too powerful with the espresso. Any thoughts?

    1. Lindsay

      If you replace some of the water with coffee liqueur, that would probably be fine. As for being too strong, that would totally be a preference thing. I could see it being delicious!

  2. Sarah

    This looks absolutely amazing! I can’t wait to give it a try. One question. I am not a fan of espresso, can a cup of coffee be used as a substitute? Thanks in advance, I look forward to trying some of your recipes!

  3. Tisha

    I found this recipe via Pinterest and attempted to make the cupcakes today. I have yet to attempt the icing because I had the same outcome as Ross. I must say that the taste of the cupcake is fantastic but mine did not look like those in the picture. Until I can improve the consistency of the cake I can’t justify making the icing which I can only imagine is as equally delicious 🙁

    If anyone having this issue could provide some advice I’d greatly appreciate it because I absolutely love the flavor.

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Hi Tisha! I use this chocolate cake as a cake and cupcakes all the time and while it can be a delicate cake, you just have to be gentle working with it. It’s very moist. It’s worth it since it’s such a great cake. That said, Ross wondered about using all purpose flour instead of cake flour and it definitely works as a one-to-one substitute if you’d like to try that and see if it’s easier to work with.

  4. Ross

    First time making a recipe from here, wanted to share my experience:
    Pros:
    Love the caramel – a lot easier than other recipes I’ve tried and really like the flavor.
    The finished product is a winner, if a little messy to eat.
    Cons:
    Personally, I found the cake itself to be very delicate and crumbly (although it was also very light and moist). I don’t know if this is just me, but I wonder if the use of cake flour over AP made them a little too delicate for coring nicely. I had a few where the top just kind of ripped off. Then again, I also overfilled the cups a bit and had some trouble getting them to release from the pan.

    Overall, this is a keeper recipe for me, but I might try tweaking it to get a cake with a little more structural integrity.

  5. David alex

    Que Dios te bendiga tienes unas manos benditas, me gustan tus postres! Saludos desde el pueblo de Choroní en pleno Mar Caribe Venezuela.
    Sigue adelante!

  6. Nichole Newman

    These look great!! What kind of tip did you use for the frosting? I have wanted to try a technique like that, I just don’t know how to do it, or where to start!

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      It’s the Ateco 809 round tip. I hold the tip in the middle of the cupcake and let it spread outward as I squeeze out the icing.

Lindsay
About Lindsay

I'm a wife and a mom to twin boys and a baby girl! And I've got a serious sweets addiction! Bring on the treats!

Scripture I’m Loving

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29