Butterscotch Cupcakes with Butterscotch Buttercream & Sauce

Name: Butterscotch Cupcakes with Butterscotch Buttercream and Butterscotch Sauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 18 Cupcakes
Ingredients: 140 grams Unsalted butter; 200 grams Light brown sugar; 3 Eggs (large ); 1/4 cup Fresh cream; 220 grams All-purpose flour; 1 tsp Baking powder; 1/2 tsp Salt; 1 tsp Vanilla

June 12, 2017 *Updated* August 18, 2019 By Veena Azmanov 28 Comments

Recipe Print

How to Make the BEST Butterscotch Cupcakes (with Butterscotch Buttercream and Butterscotch drizzle)

Butterscotch has a rich luxurious irresistible flavor when added to any dessert. This simple, easy and effortless recipe makes moist butterscotch cupcakes that get their unique flavor from brown sugar and fresh cream. Served with a dollop of soft butterscotch buttercream and drizzled with a melt in the mouth butterscotch sauce you will always want more.

These moist butterscotch cupcakes get their unique flavor from brown sugar. Served with a dollop of soft butterscotch buttercream and drizzled with soft creamy butterscotch sauce for that ultimate luxury. — Butterscotch Cupcakes with Butterscotch Buttercream and Butterscotch Sauce

Don’t you just love a good caramel or butterscotch sauce dripping? There is something about it that’s just…. oooh.. Yeah, I know!!!

My kids love these sauces. So almost every single time I have an order for a butterscotch cupcake I know I have to make more butterscotch sauce. Why? Until they see that little jar empty.. it goes on everything!! Ice cream, fruits, crackers. So trust me when I say…. the butterscotch sauce is the star of the show when it comes to these butterscotch cupcakes. I shared the recipe in all its glory on this post – Perfect Homemade Butterscotch Sauce in 5 minutes.

These are really so simple and easy to make. If you remember my previous post on Scrumptious Brown Sugar Cupcakes made with brown sugar. These are made with that cupcake recipe as a base and then topped with butterscotch buttercream, which I have given you in a previous post.

Doesn’t that look lush…?

Butterscotch Buttercream Frosting

Doesn’t that look luscious? Well, you can make this butterscotch buttercream.
If this is too much butterscotch for you try any of my other buttercream recipes. I have over 30 different buttercream and frosting flavors such as my very popular velvet American buttercream or Swiss meringue buttercream, Italian meringue buttercream. Also, you can see a whole list of luxurious buttercreams including some other filling and frosting recipes on this blog.

Butterscotch Buttercream Sauce

My butterscotch sauce is made with just 3 ingredients. And, there is so much you can do with this! Word of advice – make extra!!

Making homemade butterscotch sauce is easiest and most convenient because it uses ingredient you probably already have on hand. It take approximate five minutes to make. Not to mention nothing is better than fresh homemade.

Let’s talk ingredients and substitutes (Save/Pin)

Brown sugar – Now, I do think that brown sugar is a must for these cupcakes – it has that unique molasses flavor that goes so well with the butterscotch frosting and sauce. It has a softness about it. However, if you must, you can also use white granulated sugar instead.
If possible find a fine grain brown sugar so it creams easily.
Unsalted butter – I always use unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt. But if you use salted butter just omit the salt in the recipe. For some reason, if you can’t use butter – an equal amount of margarine will work just as well.
Fresh cream – You can add milk if you prefer but I like adding cream as it combines really well with the brown sugar.

Useful Tips and Tools

If you bake often, it would be a good idea to invest in a cake mixer. Because often we try to mix by hand and then we are too tired to give it enough creaming or mixing. So, if you are making this buttercream go head and remove that K-Mix or Kitchen Aid from your kitchen cabinet. And, you don’t have to buy an expensive stand mixer, a simple hand mixer works great too.
Having said that, a simple Bowl, whisk and Spatula with a little extra elbow grease will do too.
Personally, I believe in weighing ingredients by weight, which makes my kitchen scaleone of the most valuable items when baking. The same goes for mymeasuring cups and measuring spoons. It’s always a good idea to have these handy and use them when baking rather than trying to guess measurements.
Also, it is important to buy cupcake linersfrom a trustworthy source to prevent peeling. There is nothing worse than to bake good cupcakes or muffins and then have all the liners peel off.
Additionally, you can use a measuring cup to ensure you divide the batter evenly among all the cupcakes or muffins. That way all your cupcakes will be a similar size. Personally, I love using my cupcake scooper for that purpose.
A good baking tray is always important. Try using a light colored baking trayBaking tray. Another option is to line the baking tray with Parchment Paper for easy clean up just in case of spillage.
Every oven works differently. So the baking times are just guidelines. In case of muffins and cupcakes, it’s often a good idea to rotate the baking tray mid-way the baking so they cook and rise evenly.

How to Make Butterscotch Cupcakes (Save/Pin)

Method

Preheat the oven to 160 C / 320 F.
Prepare baking cups or cupcake wrappers in a muffin tray.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time scraping the sides of the bowl often.
Next, add cream and all-purpose flour in three batches.
Lastly, add vanilla.
Use an ice cream scoop to distribute the cupcakes evenly between 15 to 18 cupcakes wraps or 12 to 15 baking cups.

Bake the Cupcakes

Bake in a preheated oven for about 18 to 22 minutes or until the skewer inserted comes out clean.
Chill Cupcake completely before you decorate.

Make the Butterscotch Sauce

Make the butterscotch as directed in the recipe card below (more details on the individual post).
Let the sauce cool completely so it won’t melt the buttercream.
Use the amount needed to make buttercream and save the rest to drizzle on top.

Make & Pipe the Buttercream

Make the Buttercream as detailed in the recipe card below (more details on the individual post).
You can place buttercream into a piping bag with your favorite piping tip and pipe a swirl.
Alternatively, use a spatula to create a simple swirl on the cupcake as I have done here.

Drizzle with Butterscotch Sauce

Finally, use a spoon or small thin spatula to drizzle the butterscotch sauce over the cupcakes.

Storage

These cupcakes will stay at room temperature in good weather for up to 2 days.
In the fridge for about 4 days if wrapped well.

12 Tips for baking perfect cupcakes every single time

Follow the recipe properly with minimum substitutions.
Always use good quality ingredients.
Make sure the ingredients are all at room temperature.
Never over mix the batter.
Use a scoop for baking similar size cupcakes.
Always preheat the oven before baking – a hot oven works best for cupcakes.
Bake cupcakes at the right temperature.
Always bake cupcakes on the center rack one tray at a time.
Never open the oven during baking – no peeking.
Remove cupcakes from their pan no later than 7 to 10 minutes after baking.
Store cupcakes properly after baking. Place them in an airtight container at room temperature. Cupcakes dry in the fridge unless wrapped properly with plastic wrap.
Simple syrup the cupcakes if don’t plan to eat them on the same day.

Frequently asked questions

How do you keep these butterscotch cupcakes moist?

Bake them until just done – over-baking can dry them out.
Use ingredients like sour cream, buttermilk, yogurt, apple sauce that help keep the cupcakes moist.
Add simple syrup to cupcakes before frosting.

How to bake perfect cupcakes?

Baking perfect cupcakes is not hard to achieve if you follow the above 12 tips for perfect cupcakes.

How to bake fluffy butterscotch cupcakes?

Moist fluffy cupcakes are all about adding volume to your batter when mixing. Which means that knowing how to mix your batter is important.
Over mixing the batter can collapse cupcakes, thus taking away all that fluffiness. As a rule of thumb, cream butter and sugar until the sugar has almost melted – 2 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time – and make sure each one is well incorporated.
Then, add the flour and liquid – but mix until just incorporated. It is easy to over mix at this stage.

How to prevent cupcakes liners from peeling after baking?

There are a few things you can do – we discussed it in this post — how to avoid cupcake liners peeling after baking.

My cupcakes don’t bake evenly. Why?

There are few things you can do to bake similar size cupcakes – we discussed that in detail here – How to bake same size cupcakes.

How do you cool cupcakes quickly?

You can place cupcakes in the fridge for a few minutes to cool them quickly. I like to place them for just 5 to 7 minutes in the freezer.
Never leave cupcakes in the fridge open for long as they will dry out.

What temperature is best for baking cupcakes?

I like to bake at 160 – 170 C, or 310 to 325 F, or Gas mark 2 – 3.
Depending on how hot your oven temperature is, cupcakes usually take between 18 to 22 minutes. If your cupcakes bake quicker than 18 minutes or longer than 22 minutes, it’s probably best to check if your oven needs calibration.

What other buttercream or frosting can I use for these butterscotch cupcakes?

Oh, these cupcakes are delicious with just about any frosting. I have shared with you more than 30 different buttercream flavors here on the blog but these are just a few suggestions.

Over 30 homemade buttercream frosting recipes by Veena Azmanov all in one place.

30 Plus Homemade Buttercream Frosting Recipes

Need a buttercream recipe in 5 minutes? Have a buttercream related question? Wondering what buttercream to use for your cake? It’s all here in one place. 30 plus homemade buttercream frosting recipes for you to explore. With recipes, tips, trick, and troubleshooting, as well as popular questions, answered.

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Learn to make scrumptious cupcakes with butterscotch flavor and buttercream — Best Cupcakes Recipe, Butterscotch Flavor, Filling, Buttercream, Sauce

Butterscotch Cupcakes with Butterscotch Buttercream and Butterscotch Sauce

Author: Veena Azmanov

5 from 15 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 40 mins

Calories: 165kcal

$10

Adjust Servings Here: 18 Cupcakes

Description

Equipment /Tools

Ingredients

140 grams Unsalted butter
200 grams Light brown sugar
3 Eggs large
1/4 cup Fresh cream
220 grams All-purpose flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla

Metric – US customary

ADJUST SERVINGS HERE – 18 Cupcakes

Conversions – Switch between Metric & US for other measurement options