Happy Birthday Milky Way Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream Frosting

I found this recipe for a Milky Way cake in a long, lost idea folder that I used to keep. I was really curious about how it would turn out so I decided to make it for my birthday cake!

It was originally a layer cake but I decided to make cupcakes because cupcakes are the new cake! Don't you agree?

I hadn't made a cake from scratch for probably 7 years! I'm just never in love with cakes made from scratch. And this cake was no exception. It was a little dry and crumbly. Am I alone here? Maybe I just haven't found "the one."

You know who I have just learned to relate to with this cake? Those weird people who say that the frosting is too sweet. I have never met a frosting that was too sweet until I met this one. Don't get me wrong! It was delicious, but it was "make your fillings hurt" sweet. I was glad that I had some vanilla ice cream on hand to kind of mellow out the sweetness.

Will I make this again? Probably not, but a thin layer of the frosting would be great on some sort of apple cinnamon roll. Wheels are turning......



Milky Way Cake with Caramel Buttercream Frosting

Cake:
3 (2.05-oz) Milky Way candy bars
2 TBSP + 1 1/4 cups milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Frosting:
50 caramels
1/2 cup milk
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
5 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Garnish:
Chocolate candy coating (optional)

1. Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, melt candy bars ad 2 TBSP milk over medium low heat for 10 minutes. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a bowl combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large mixer bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating 30 seconds and scraping bowl with spatula after each addition. Beat in melted candy bars. On low speed, beat in 1/2 of the flour mixture and 3/4 cup milk, scraping down the side of bowl. Beat in remaining flour mixture and milk. Pour batter into prepared pans or cupcake holders. Bake 20-25 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center of cakes comes out clean. Let cool completely.

2. Frosting: In medium saucepan, melt caramels over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Whisk in milk until smooth. Remove from heat: let cool to room temperature, 1 hour.

3. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until blended. On medium-high, beat 3 minutes. Beat in caramel mixture and beat 2 minutes more, until light and fluffy.

4. Spoon frosting in a gallon size resealable plastic bag. Cut tip off and frost tops of cupcakes.

5. Garnish: Put a layer of wax paper on a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. Melt chocolate candy coating in a small resealable plastic bag in microwave. Cut a tiny hole in corner of the bag. Make designs with the chocolate on wax paper, place in fridge until hardened and then garnish the cupcakes with your designs.