My daughter always begs for Chicago Mix popcorn, and then only eats the Cheese Popcorn half of the bag. It drives me crazy! We always end up with a half-full bag of caramel popcorn, so I came up with this easy recipe for Caramel Popcorn Cupcakes with a Vanilla Butter Cake and Caramel Buttercream for a fun caramel cupcake perfect for a Circus theme or Baseball Birthday Party.

Ingredients to Make Caramel Popcorn Cupcakes:

For the Vanilla Butter Cupcakes, you will need:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups cake flour- sifted
• 1 Tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk

For the Caramel Buttercream, you will need:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 Tablespoons dark corn syrup
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• Small bag or box of caramel popcorn, optional garnish
• Caramel ice cream topping, optional garnish

Kitchen Tools You May Find Useful:

• Non-slip mixing bowls
• Stand mixer
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Silicon cupcake liners
• Muffin tin
• Toothpicks
• Piping bag set with reusable silicon frosting bag
• Cooling rack

How to Make Caramel Popcorn Cupcakes

Preheat your oven to 375F.

Line a muffin tin with your chosen cupcake liners and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar with your mixer in a mixing bowl for at least two minutes, until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, vanilla, and milk and combine well. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and then add slowly to the wet mixture, beating until just combined.

Portion out 1/3 cup of batter into each cupcake liner and bake 18-22 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

While the cupcakes are baking, whip together all frosting ingredients except the milk for 2-3 minutes – butter, brown sugar, powdered sugar, and milk. Add the milk 1 Tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired frosting consistency.

Spoon the caramel frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star tip, and set aside.

Allow the cupcakes to cool on a baking rack before frosting. Garnish with caramel popcorn, as desired.

Pin this Caramel Popcorn Cupcake recipe for later:

Grab your free printable for our Caramel Popcorn Cupcakes recipe:

These cupcakes would be fun for so many different occasions – do you have a special event coming up that they would be perfect for?

Check out some of our other delicious cupcake recipes, like our Brown Butter Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream or our Big Bird Cupcakes, perfect for a special birthday or playdate treat.