Irresistible butterscotch cupcakes topped with the best and easiest butterscotch frosting. These moist and creamy cupcakes are perfect for any occasion!
Treat your loved ones with these amazing butterscotch cupcakes, they will all adore them! The cupcakes are soft, moist, and sweet and the topping is rich yet airy and so delicious! Really! The biggest issue is that you will probably eat more than you should.
And for more butterscotch flavor, you could try this Boozy Butterbeer.
What is butterscotch?
Originally, butterscotch was hard candy, the “scotch” in the word meaning “cut” and referring to the way the candy pieces were scored for later cutting before they became hard.
Nowadays, butterscotch is seen more as a flavor, and it is mostly known in the form of a sauce similar to caramel, but not quite caramel. Or in the form of the butterscotch chips.
What is the difference between butterscotch and caramel?
The main difference is that caramel is made with regular granulated sugar while butterscotch is made with brown sugar and most recipes would also add cream or butter to the sauce. Butterscotch is sweeter and lacks the bitter notes of caramel. Also, making butterscotch is much easier than making caramel.
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- Flour – I prefer to use the finer cake flour for this recipe, but all-purpose flour is fine as well.
- Oil – my favorite kind of muffins are those made with oil. Using oil makes them moister and helps them keep that moisture for several days. You should definitely try these Apple Muffins with Oil, they are amazing and one of the most popular recipes on the blog.
- You will need a neutral-tasting oil, like canola or very very mild sunflower oil. No olive oil, it is too domineering.
Other ingredients:
- Light brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, sparkling water (or a sweet fizzy drink, like Coke), baking soda and baking powder, some salt, and butterscotch flavor.
Frosting:
- Heavy/double cream, butterscotch instant pudding mix, and some flavor as well.
- Using cream for the topping not only makes this recipe so much easier and quicker, but it also makes the baked goods lighter, airier and so incredibly delicious!
- The star sprinkles are, of course, optional, but pretty.
How to make butterscotch cupcakes?
Batter:
- Preheat the oven and prepare the muffin tin.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
- Mix the wet ingredients, except the sparkling water, in another bowl.
- Alternating, add the dry ingredients and the water to the wet ingredients.
- Divide the batter between the muffin molds.
- Bake for about 20 minutes.
- Leave in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting:
- Beat the heavy cream shortly.
- Slowly start adding the instant pudding mix and the icing sugar.
- Keep beating until the whipped cream reaches the desired consistency.
- Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe onto the cupcakes.
- Sprinkle with the golden stars or another decoration of choice.
- Place the butterscotch cupcakes in the refrigerator for about 2 hours before serving.
Tips
- Use a digital scale for measuring the ingredients, it makes a lot of difference most of the time.
- Preheat the oven and prepare the muffin tin before you stir the ingredients for the batter. The batter needs to be baked immediately, the baking powder will lose its power if it waits for the oven to get hot.
- Don't overmix the batter or the muffins will not be airy but rather tough.
- Taste the whipped cream and add more butterscotch flavor to taste.
How to store?
The muffins can be baked one day in advance. Let them cool completely, cover well with aluminum foil or place in an airtight container and keep at room temperature.
Only whip the cream and pipe it on the cakes about 2-3 hours before serving and keep refrigerated.
They should be served on the day you decorated them, but leftovers are still fine the next day. Just keep them refrigerated, whipped cream should not be left at room temperature for too long.
The muffins without the frosting can be frozen in airtight containers for up to 3 months. The frosting is not freezable.
More cupcakes and muffins:
Sour Cream Muffins – perfect for decorating as cupcakes.
Nigella's Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Carrot Muffins with Blueberry Frosting
Cinnamon Muffin Recipe (Donut-Style)
Butterscotch Cupcakes
Ingredients
- Cupcakes:
- 160 g/ 5.7 oz/ 1 ⅓ cups flour Note 1
- 130 g/ 4.6 oz/ ⅔ cup light brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 eggs
- 85 ml/ 2.9 fl.oz/ ⅓ cup vegetable oil Note 2
- 1 teaspoon butterscotch flavor
- 85 ml/ 2.9 fl.oz/ ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 85 ml/ 2.9 fl.oz/ ⅓ cup sparkling water
- Frosting:
- 500 ml/ 17 fl.oz/ 2 cups heavy/double cream
- 35 g/ 1.2 oz/ ⅓ cup butterscotch instant pudding mix
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons butterscotch flavor to taste
- golden star sprinkles optional
Instructions
Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin liners.
- Mix together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In another bowl beat together the eggs, vegetable oil, butterscotch flavor, and buttermilk.
- Add the dry ingredients and the sparkling water to the wet ingredients, alternating between the two. Don't overmix.
- Place the batter into the prepared muffin molds and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cupcakes rest for 5 minutes, then carefully remove from the tin and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Frosting:
- Start beating the heavy cream in a mixing bowl.
- Slowly start adding the butterscotch instant pudding mix and the icing sugar. Add the butterscotch flavor as well and continue beating until the heavy cream reaches the desired consistency.
- Transfer the cream to a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe the topping onto the cupcakes.
- Finish with the golden star sprinkles.
Notes
- I prefer to use cake flour when making muffins, but all-purpose is fine as well.
- Neutral-tasting oil, like canola.
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