Salted Caramel Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes

A rich, dark chocolate cupcake with a hint of espresso and topped with a heavenly homemade salted caramel buttercream. These cupcakes are ultra decadent and simply irresistible!

PJ Sundays. Foggy mornings that give way to clear, blue skies. Lazy summer weekends. Morning snuggles. Goodnight hugs. Cereal milk. My girls’ smiles. Pink hydrangeas. Bright yellow lemons in plain white bowls. Puppy kisses. Chocolate covered t-shirts after eating ice cream sandwiches. An empty sink. A full glass of rose. Decaf lattes and folded newspapers. Crisp, white linen. Chips and guacamole. Salty margaritas. A short to-do list. A long run. Folded laundry. Cookies in my carry on. Thank you notes. Breakfast for dinner. That feeling at the end of the day and everyone is tucked into bed. Sunday brunch. Holding hands. A new fall sweater. Salted. Caramel. Chocolate. Espresso. Cupcakes. These are a few of my favorite things.
 

Lately I’ve found myself keeping a mental note of my favorite things…a running tally in my memory bank that helps me to remember that it’s the little things that make us the happiest. Most have been favorite things for as long as I can remember. Some are silly. And meaningful all at the same time.
This summer I’ve been taking special notice when no one is looking of all the little moments that make me smile. Trying desperately to hang on to the simple things in life that seemingly become more important when even more urgent things are happening.
If I’m being honest, this summer has been an odd one. Full of sun and fun and the usual schools-out-for-summer shenanigans amongst my little party of five. But this summer in particular has also carried with it a nagging little feeling of anxiousness and a sense of changing tides that I just can’t shake. Tomorrow morning we’re off to move my oldest daughter into her college dorm and we’ve been spending this last week soaking up all of her favorite things, favorite places, and of course, her favorite sweets.

It’s been one last, big, giant hurrah before the new adventure begins 2301.2 miles away from home. I’ve been filling her up to the brim with all of her most loved sweets and treats before she goes off all on her own and I’ve got a batch of my classic chocolate chip cookie dough chilling in the fridge as we speak. Because cookies in my carry on is my favorite and I hate to travel without them.
If I could find a way to transport these Salted Caramel Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes halfway across the country, I would. This buttercream is lick-from-the-bowl worthy and my girl is the first one in line with a spoon in hand every time.

These cupcakes are pretty epic if I do say so myself. They are basically a triple threat…they have chocolate, espresso {just a smidge to enhance the chocolate} and salted caramel all in one seriously delicious dessert. I’m not trying to tell you how to live your life, BUT you really shouldn’t miss out on this ridiculously good cupcake. Make ’em once and you’ll make them again and again. And again. Promise.

I’ve posted the recipe for this Salted Caramel Chocolate Espresso Cupcake before but it only came with a single photo and was a bit buried at the end of a post I wrote not too long ago about The Newbie Food Blogger’s Guide to Success. If you’re interested in starting a blog, or maybe you recently took the leap, then you can read my top tips here. If you’re just here for this mile high salted caramel buttercream goodness then grab the recipe below and crank that oven up to 350. I have a sneaky feeling this cupcake might just become one of your favorite things too.
Happy Baking!

If you like these Salted Caramel Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes, you may also like:
Devil’s Food Cupcakes
Gluten Free Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and Blackberry Curd
Gingerbread Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream
**Salted Caramel Recipe adapted from The Bake Feed’s Bake from Scratch Vol. II