Light, fluffy, dreamy almond cupcakes with a simple buttercream frosting, but wait that's not all of it. Enter the decadent salted caramel sauce which makes everything better and all the problems disappear.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line your cupcake tray with paper liners.
Sift the flour and baking powder together and leave it aside.
In a big bowl, cream butter and sugar till it looks nice and light. I whisk with my hand and feel that this can be achieved in 5-7 minutes of whisking.
Next comes those eggs, one at a time. Mix well between them to make sure it is blended well with the butter and sugar. Having the eggs at room temperature will help you with this.
Stir in the vanilla and almond extract.
Gradually beat in the flour mixture, alternating with the milk (start and end with the flour). The right consistency is when your batter flows down from the spatula like a ribbon.
Spoon the batter 2/3rd full in the liner and bake for 20-25 mins. Do the toothpick check. If the inserted toothpick comes out clean, you are golden.
Take ‘em out and leave them to cool down.
Beat the salted butter with 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed. When it comes to the sugar, I rather err on the side of using less than more, so I always add mine in small increments. Keep adding the sugar till it reaches a thick consistency, close to dough.
Add the vanilla extract.
Lower the speed and slowly incorporate the salted caramel, one spoon at a time. Save some to drizzle on the top.
Pipe the buttercream over the cupcakes only once they have completely cooled down. Drizzle leftover caramel sauce on top and sprinkle a few grains of sea salt to contrast.