Butterscotch Cupcakes with Butterscotch Buttercream & Sauce

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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.

A cupcake with butterscotch frosting. — 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.

Cupcakes with butterscotch frosting. — Butterscotch Cupcakes with Butterscotch Buttercream and Butterscotch Sauce[

Doesn’t that look lush…?

Table of Contents

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!!

Ingredients and substitutes

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.

Step by step instructions

Bake the cupcakes

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

Make the butterscotch sauce

Make the butterscotch sauce as directed in the recipe and video here.
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 butterscotch buttercream as detailed in the recipe.
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

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 you don’t plan to eat them on the same day.

Frequently asked questions

How do you keep these 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. This 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.