Piping this caramel frosting on chocolate cupcakes instantly elevates them from basic to extraordinary with hardly any extra effort. And I highly recommend trying this frosting on top of a delicious chocolate brownie! Don’t miss any of my cake recipes where you could use this frosting! I was never the kid who ate the frosting and left the cupcake. In fact, usually I would scrape the frosting off and only eat the cake portion of a dessert. But that was usually because people would so often serve cupcakes with store-bought canned frosting. Which, I’m sorry, but yuck. No thank you! Homemade frosting is so far superior as to be almost a completely different food, in my opinion. And I love that I can customize the flavor to whatever my hearts desire like this salted caramel frosting that is the bees knees! Also, homemade frosting is incredibly easy to make! If you haven’t tried it, what’s stopping you? This salted caramel frosting is light and fluffy, with rich caramel flavor. I like to make homemade caramel sauce to use in this recipe, although it does take some advance planning since the caramel has to cool COMPLETELY or else it will melt the butter and the frosting will not work. But I’ve also done a semi-homemade version where I use store-bought caramel sauce when I’m running short on time. You can also taste and adjust the saltiness to your desired level. I really love the combination of salty and sweet, so I will even sprinkle flaked salt on top of my pipes frosting along with a little extra caramel drizzle. It’s messy and not very practical, for sure, but it makes a beautiful presentation as well as giving that extra bump of flavor. I piped the swirls on these cupcakes using the Wilton 1M piping tip (affiliate link). My other favorite tips for frosting cupcakes are the Wilton 8B and the Ateco 828 and Ateco 808. (affiliate links) It’s so easy to make professional-looking cupcakes with basically zero talent and the right tip. I’m sort of the worst decorator ever, but I’m always happy with how my cupcakes turn out thanks to these tip choices! I love, love, love the combination of salted caramel frosting with chocolate cupcakes, but you can also sandwich it between your favorite cookies, use it on yellow or vanilla cupcakes, top brownies with it, or heck, just spread it on graham crackers. It’s oh-so-good.
How to make this salted caramel frosting
How do I store this salted caramel frosting?
Store any unused frosting in an airtight container inside your fridge for up to 1 week. Let it sit on the counter for about an hour to come to room temperature before piping onto any desserts. The frosting can also be frozen for up to 2 months. Just thaw overnight in the fridge and let it sit out for a couple of hours to come to room temperature. You may want to dump it back into a mixer and beat it again to get it really nice and smooth before using.
Which caramel sauce should I use for this recipe?
I highly recommend my own salted caramel sauce recipe because it’s great, but if you don’t want to make your own, you can buy a store-bought version. I’ve even used leftover buttermilk caramel syrup recipe in a pinch once and it worked fine, although the caramel flavor didn’t come through quite as strong.
More Fabulous Frosting Recipes
Best Chocolate Buttercream FrostingFresh Strawberry FrostingHomemade Rainbow Chip Frosting RecipeEggnog Buttercream FrostingDragon Fruit Buttercream FrostingGuava FrostingGraham Cracker FrostingLemon Buttercream Frosting
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