German Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Caramel Filling

German Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Caramel Filling
and Traditional Coconut Pecan Frosting 

There is nothing "skinny" or "healthy" about these cupcakes so if you are looking for that check out Fresh Strawberry Muffins or Greek Yogurt Berry Mug Cake. These also take some time but they are worth it!  As I mentioned in my last post, I made these for my husband's birthday and in that post I also explained the SHMILY cupcake toppers. 

I started with the traditional German Chocolate Cake recipe, which is my hubs favorite, but I wanted a way to make it where I would eat it.  I am not a fan of coconut (honestly I think it's really gross!) and wanted to be able to enjoy the cake with him unlike the others times we've made it. So I added a chocolate caramel filling/frosting inspired by something I had seen on Pinterest (this).

German Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Caramel Filling and Traditional Coconut-Pecan Frosting
adapted from Baker's German Sweet Chocolate Cake


The Cupcakes:
Heat oven to 350°F.
Filling:
Frosting:

1 pkg.  (4 oz.) Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate

½ c.  water

4 eggs, separated

2 c.  flour

1 tsp.  baking soda

¼ tsp.  salt

1 c.  butter, softened

2 c. sugar

1 tsp.  vanilla

1 c.  buttermilk

Place liners in pans for 36 cupcakes. (If you have that many, I made 24 and bake the rest in a loaf pan). Microwave chocolate and water in large microwaveable bowl on high 1-1/2 to 2 min. or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 min. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Beat egg whites in small bowl with mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form; set aside. Mix flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each. 

Blend in melted chocolate and vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating until well blended after each addition.

Add egg whites; stir gently until well blended. Pour into prepared pans.

Bake 20 -25 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Let sit in pans a few minutes before removing. Let cool completely before adding filling or frosting.
When completely cooled insert a paring knife into the top of a cupcake at a 45-degree angle. Aim for a point between the edge of the cupcake and its center.
Push the knife about an inch deep into the cupcake. Cut a circular cone out of the top of the cupcake.
Remove the cone and slice off the point, but keep the circular base of the cone. This is your plug once you have finished filling the cupcake. (These directions came from eHow.com. Since that's where I learned how to do it) 

The Filling:

adapted from Cafe Latte's Turtle Cake Chocolate Frosting

1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. whole milk

3 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 c. purchased caramel ice cream topping

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and milk. Add butter. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add semisweet chocolate pieces. Using a wire whisk, stir until smooth.  Then add caramel topping and whisk until smooth.  Let stand several minutes before filling cupcakes. 

Spoon filling into prepared holes in cupcakes and top with cupcake pieces you saved. Now it's time to make the frosting.

Frosting:

2 egg yolks

1/2 can (12oz) evaporated milk

3/4 tsp.  vanilla

3/4 c.  sugar

3/4 c. butter or margarine

1 1/3 c. coconut 

3/4 c.  chopped pecans

Beat egg yolks, milk and vanilla in large saucepan with whisk until well blended. Add sugar and butter; cook on medium heat 12 min. or until thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Add coconut and nuts; mix well. Cool to desired spreading consistency. Spread on cupcakes. 

As you can see I choose to frost some of them with the chocolate filling and not the coconut-pecan frosting. I also left the filling out of some for those who only wanted the traditional flavors. The directions above are for filling and frosting them all so we will need to adjust accordingly.

I can't personally vouch for the ones with coconut-pecan frosting but the chocolate filling only ones were fantastic! I had no idea how good German Chocolate Cake was. My husband may be getting it a whole lot more often.

Printable Recipe

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