Best Ever Dulce De Leche Cupcakes
This dulce de leche cupcakes recipe has a light and fluffy vanilla sponge with creamy leche centers topped with rich dulce de leche buttercream. They are an addiction. So you can’t just stop at one. A simple, easy and effortless recipe that works as a perfect treat for kids or adults. Wheater you use homemade or store-bought dulce de leche these are sure to satisfy your sweet cravings anytime.
I have yet to find a person that does not love dulce de leche. Seems like everybody loves that creamy, rich, gooey stuff. In addition, if you love cupcakes then you can only imagine what the combination of cupcakes and dulce de leche tastes like. These are the best ever dulce de leche cupcakes!!!
As promised, I want to share with you my dulce de leche cupcakes recipe. Last week I shared with you my Brown Sugar Cupcakes and Caramel Cupcakes. And, I have two more so stay tuned.
I don’t want to brag about my cupcake recipes. So, I’ll just say this, Ziv does not eat cupcakes with the exception of these. Yep, these are the only cupcakes he eats. Therefore, trust me, these are the best ever dulce de leche cupcakes.
As you know, making cupcakes is my job. I do it almost all the time. So my kids are just tired of cake. And yet, they are never tired of this one. Aadi can eat dulce de leche right out of a can. And he loves cupcakes more than regular cakes. So, he will take any cupcake, even the strawberry one and top it with – you guessed it – dulce de leche.
What is Dulce De Leche?
Dulce de leche is the best thing you will ever taste. It’s a creamy caramel-like sauce made by simmering a pot of milk and sugar for a couple of hours until it is reduced to a thick creamy paste-like consistency. It takes forever but so tasty. You can buy this ready in a can or jar in the supermarket. Hence, don’t worry, you don’t have to wait so many hours to eat these cupcakes.
About these Dulce De Leche cupcakes
Why do I call this the best ever dulce de leche cupcakes recipe? First, it has a light and fluffy vanilla cupcake recipe with a soft crumb. Those of you that have tried my cupcakes know you can eat them on their own without any frosting. So delicious. Then we go one step further and fill them with dulce de leche. As if that wasn’t enough, we also make a batch of dulce de leche buttercream to go on top of it.
Tips – try filling these with the leche while they are still warm. I mean just stick a bag of filling into each cupcake and watch how the warmth of the cupcake just melts and infuses the cupcake batter.
So, is it any wonder that these make the best dulce de leche cupcakes? The best part? these can be customized. Therefore, if you think there is way too much dulce de leche for you to handle, don’t fill these with dulce de leche. Just go with the dulce de leche buttercream topping. Alternatively, keep the filling and use a vanilla buttercream topping instead of dulce de leche buttercream. In fact, you must try a meringue buttercream such as Swiss meringue buttercream or Italian meringue buttercream.
And if you think this is still not enough dulce de leche on your cupcake – add some more dulce de leche as a drizzle. Warm a little dulce de leche in the microwave with a few tablespoons of cream to make it pourable consistency and have fun drizzling.
Let’s talk ingredients and substitutes (Save/Pin)
- Unsalted butter – I always use unsalted butter. Because I like to control the amount of salt. And yet, if salted butter is all you have, then go ahead and use it just omit salt in the recipe.
- Sugar – I prefer white sugar because I want to keep the color of the cupcakes whiter so the filling in the cupcake stands out.
- Buttermilk – gives a nice soft crumb to the cupcakes. Buttermilk takes five minutes to make at home so there should be no reason to substitute. Here’s how to make homemade buttermilk in 5 minutes.
- All-purpose flour – Yes, we use simple plain all-purpose flour. There is no need for any cake flours or self-raising flour.
- Dulce de leche – I do make my own when I need a big batch for a cake order. Otherwise, I just buy a jar from the supermarket for small projects like these cupcakes.
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 the Best Dulce de Leche Cupcakes with Dulce De Leche Buttercream (Save/Pin)
Ingredients can be found below in the recipe card with unit conversions
Method
Bake the cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 160 C / 320 F.
- Prepare baking cups or cupcake wrappers in muffin pans.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time scraping the sides of the bowl often.
- Followed by buttermilk and flour mixture.
- Lastly, add in the Vanilla.
- Use an ice cream scoop to distribute the cupcakes evenly between 12 cupcakes wraps.
- Bake in a preheated oven for about 18 to 22 minutes or until the skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Let cupcakes cool completely but do not put them in the fridge.
Fill the cupcakes
- Place dulce de leche in a piping bag or ziplock bag.
- Make a small hole at the end of the bag.
- Using a melon baller make a hole in the center of the cupcake and fill the cavity with dulce de leche.
- Place cupcakes in the fridge to cool.
Make the dulce de leche buttercream
- Cream butter until light and fluffy.
- Add the powdered sugar, continue to whip some more.
- Mix in the vanilla.
- Finally, fold the dulce de leche – Add half the dulce de leche and mix really well.
- When you add the other half, barely mix leaving streaks of the dark line in the frosting.
Pipe the buttercream
- Place buttercream into a piping bag with your favorite piping tip and pipe a swirl.
- Alternatively, use a spatula to create a dome on the cupcake.
- Enjoy!
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
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.
Baking perfect cupcakes is not hard to achieve if you follow the above 12 tips for perfect 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.
There are a few things you can do – we discussed it in this post — how to avoid cupcake liners peeling after baking.
There are few things you can do to bake similar size cupcakes – we discussed that in detail here – How to bake same size cupcakes.
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.
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 strawberry 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.
SAVE THIS RECIPE ON PINTEREST FOR LATER. TRIED MY RECIPE? SHARE IT WITH ME, PLEASE.
Share a picture of your work with me by uploading an image here below my image on this board. You can also find a collection of my tutorials and recipes here on Pinterest.
BEST EVER Dulce De Leche Cupcakes with Dulce De Leche Filling and Buttercream
Print Pin RateDescription
Equipment /Tools
- Cupcake Pan
- Kitchen Scale
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 113 grams Butter unsalted
- 100 grams White sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 cup Buttermilk
- 175 grams All-purpose flour
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking soda
For the Filling
- 1/2 cup Dulce De Leche
For the Buttercream
- 100 grams Unsalted butter
- 200 grams Powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup Dulce de leche
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Conversions – Switch between Metric & US for other measurement options
Instructions
Bake Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 160 C / 320 F.
- Prepare baking cups or cupcake wrappers in muffin pans.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time scraping the sides of the bowl often.
- Followed by buttermilk and flour mixture
- Lastly, add in the Vanilla.
- Use an ice cream scoop to distribute the cupcakes evenly between 12 cupcakes wraps.
- Bake in a preheated oven for about 18 to 22 minutes or until the skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Let cupcakes cool completely but do not put them in the fridge.
Fill the cupcakes
- Place dulce de leche in a piping bag or ziplock bag.
- Make a small hole at the end of the bag.
- Using a melon baller make a hole in the center of the cupcake and fill the cavity with dulce de leche.
- Place cupcakes in the fridge to cool.
Make the Dulce de leche Buttercream
- Cream butter until light and fluffy.
- Add the powder sugar, continue to whip some more.
- Mix in the vanilla.
- Finally, fold the dulce de leche – Add half the dulce de leche and mix really well.
- When you add the other half, barely mix leaving streaks of the dark line in the frosting.
Pipe the Buttercream
- Place buttercream into a piping bag with your favorite piping tip and pipe a swirl.
- Alternatively, use a spatula to create a dome on the cupcake.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Featured recipe below – Dulce De Leche No-Churn Ice Cream
Recipe Video
About Videos – most recipes has two videos – a quick version in the post & longer detailed version on this recipe card. Sometimes a similar recipe video may be used. Please do subscribe to my channel if you like my videos
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
You may also like
- Eggnog Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream
- Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Spiced Apple Cupcakes with Caramel
- Devil’s Food Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
- Eggless Strawberry Cupcakes with Pink Buttercream
- Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Jam Centers and Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- Moist Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Best Ever Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes
- Butterscotch Cupcakes with Butterscotch Buttercream
- Pink Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream
- Carrot Cupcakes with Easter Eggs
- Apple Blueberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
CHrissyw
I think some of the density issues might be from the recipe itself. I just made a batch following the instructions and my cakes didn’t rise and were really dense. Re-read the ingredients list and saw the leveling agents on the list but not mentioned in the written steps – remade with them added and they look correct now! I just added them w/ the flour.
Veena Azmanov
Hey Chrissy, Yes, the baking powder and baking soda need to be added to the flour. Thank you for bringing the typo to my attention. I have just corrected it. Glad you enjoyed your cupcakes.Thanks for coming back to write this feedback.
Emily
I am making these tomorrow, and I CAN’T WAIT!!! I do have a suggestion for your post….I am an experienced baker, so this was no big deal for me, but there are a few steps missing in your recipe. You might want to add them in just in case an inexperienced baker tries to attempt this recipe ? I can’t wait for these to melt in my mouth!!! Thank you!
Veena Azmanov
Hey Emily. Glad you like this recipe. Let me know how you enjoy it. I will read the recipe again and see if something is missing. Feel free to let me know if you think some information is missing. Thanks
Iltzsc
Made these last month and they were the best cupcakes we had. So soft and moist. The dulce de leche recipe is perfect too! Loved it all. Thanks for sharing.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Iltzsc. So happy to hear that you had success with this recipe and love it. Thank you so much for coming back to write this feedback. Appreciate it so much.
Annette
I made these yesterday. The flavour of the cupcake was ok but the cupcakes themselves were very dense. The icing would be better with less icing sugar. The idea is good but the outcome was less than impressive.
Veena Azmanov
I’m sorry to hear that Annette. I have made these many times and my customers love it. The cupcake batter itself is a standard cupcake batter and should actually be very light not dense at all! Perhaps check the quantity of flour again. I agree the icing is sweet but you do need that powder sugar to hold it together or it’s too soft to pipe anything.
Molly Joy
Super tasty cupcakes !! My family loved it. The cupcakes were soft just as you said. The icing is sweet but we love dulce de leche so it was truly enjoyed. Your blog is now my go to for all recipes.. Thank you for sharing your recipes.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much Molly for your feedback. I love getting positive feedback from anyone who has tried my recipes. Yes, the icing is a tad sweet but you need that sugar to hold the frosting together..! Glad you enjoyed it.
Nadiya Moraes
Tasty Cupcakes
Naina Vaz
What lovely recipes Veena .. Thanks for sharing these .. Love you !! I’m going to make these soon.
Rakesh Kapoor
Love the recipe
Maggie Sweallen
Never imagined these cupcakes would turn out so good .. Its a personal favorite !!!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much Maggie. So happy to hear you say that.
Tanya Kapoor
OOooo… This looks yum !! I want to try these soon. I love your other cupcake recipes. They always come out perfect.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much Tanya