Almond Cupcakes Recipe
Toasted almond cupcakes that have a rich and sweet caramel frosting.
Servings: 18 cupcakes
Calories: 321kcal
Cost: 6
Ingredients
- 1 cup (100g) toasted almonds divided (see note)
- 1 (approx 15 ounce) box yellow or white cake mix
- 1 ¼ cups (296ml) milk (see note)
- ⅓ cup (79ml) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup butter (see note)
- 1 cup (200g) packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup (60ml) milk
- 1½ cups (170g) powdered sugar
Instructions
Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with liners.
- Toast almonds by placing them in a frying pan and cooking over medium-low heat, stirring constantly and not walking away from the stove, until light golden brown. Remove to a plate or bowl to cool.
- Place ½ cup of the toasted almonds in a food processor and grind until they are finely ground. Reserve remaining almonds for topping.
- In a large bowl, beat cake mix, milk, oil, eggs, and almond extract with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds. Turn the mixer up to medium and beat for two minutes. Fold in ground almonds.
- Divide batter evenly amongst cupcake liners (about ⅔ full). Bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
Frosting:
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and boil and stir for 2 minutes.
- Stir in milk. Heat back to boiling then remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm, about 30 minutes.
- Place the pan in a bowl of ice water and add the powdered sugar. Beat with a spoon until the frosting is smooth and spreadable, being sure to scrape the bottom of the pot while stirring. Remove pot from ice bath.
- Frost cupcakes immediately and top with remaining almonds. The frosting will set and dry and stiffen up quickly so plan to frost the cupcakes as soon as the frosting is done.
Video
Notes
- Learn how to toast almonds.
- I used almond milk but you can use any kind of milk or nondairy milk.
- For the frosting, you can use salted or unsalted butter. However, if you're using unsalted butter be sure to add 1/4 teaspoon salt to the mixture with the powdered sugar.
- This is a very sweet frosting so a little goes a long way.
- Store cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Cupcakes can be frozen unfrosted for up to 3 months. I don't recommend freezing caramel frosting.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 321kcal