A recipe for Chocolate Covered Pretzel Cupcakes in celebration of my sixth blogiversary! Chocolate cupcakes are covered with a salted caramel buttercream, drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauce, and topped with a chocolate covered pretzel for the finishing touch.
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Chocolate Covered Pretzel Cupcakes
Tara’s Multicultural Table turned six years old last week and I am celebrating with these cupcakes! The inspiration actually came from my recipe for Chocolate Covered Pretzel Hot Chocolate. Rich, chocolate cupcakes are covered with a salted caramel buttercream and garnished with chocolate and caramel sauce, a chocolate covered pretzel, and a small sprig of mint. You can even add a sprinkling of crushed pretzels or mix them right into the buttercream like Elizabeth of Sugarhero.
The chocolate covered pretzels can be store-bought or you can make your own by dipping small pretzel twists into melted dark chocolate and allowing them to set on parchment. The mint is completely optional, but I have a ton growing in my backyard and liked the contrast in color (plus this helped them match the hot chocolate).
The Giveaway {CLOSED}
As a thank you to all of my readers, I am also hosting a giveaway (NOW CLOSED) with a few of my favorite products from this year. Featured in the giveaway is the following for a retail value of $75.96 :
- A copy of The Immigrant Cookbook: Recipes That Make America Great (see the review here).
- An 8 ounce Phin (Vietnamese Coffee Filter Set). I used the Phin to make this Cà Phê Trứng (Vietnamese Egg Coffee).
- Stainless Steel Coconut Slicer. The coconut slicer was perfect for shredding cantaloupe for Melon sa Malamig (Filipino Cantaloupe Drink).
- I also included a couple of Japanese puzzle eraser (omokeshi) sets. Since we have moved to Los Angeles, the kids have really enjoyed these from the local Japanese markets. One features Chinese dim sum while the other has traditional Japanese sweets.
Chocolate Covered Pretzel Cupcakes Recipe
Adapted from Sugarhero and What Charlotte Baked
Chocolate Covered Pretzel Cupcakes
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes:
- 12 tablespoons (6 ounces, 170 grams) unsalted butter room temperature
- 2/3 cup (4.75 ounces, 135 grams) granulated sugar
- 2/3 cups (5 ounces, 142 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- t teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 1 cup (8 ounces, 237 milliliters) buttermilk
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 118 milliliters) sour cream
- 1 3/4 cups (7.8 ounces, 221 grams) all purpose flour
- 1 cup (3 ounces, 85 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Caramel Buttercream:
- 1 cup (8 ounces, 225 grams) unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 3/4 cups (21 ounces, 600 grams) powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup (59 milliliters) caramel sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1-3 tablespoons milk
Garnish:
- Chocolate Sauce
- Caramel Sauce
- Chocolate covered pretzels
- Fresh mint optional
Instructions
To make the chocolate cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350˚F (177˚C). Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners or lightly grease.
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract and espresso powder.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the buttermilk and sour cream.
- In another bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add 1/4 of the flour mixture to the mixer and beat on low speed until just combined. Add 1/3rd of the buttermilk mixture, followed by another 1/4th of the flour mixture. Continue until all the ingredients have been incorporated.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared muffin tins, filling them 3/4 full (I use an ice cream scoop). Bake in preheated oven just until cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20-22 minutes. Allow to cool on wire racks.
To make the caramel buttercream:
- In a large bowl, beat the butter until light and creamy using a hand mixer. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar until well combined followed by the caramel and salt.
- Add 1-3 tablespoons of the milk as needed to reach the desired consistency for piping.
- Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with desired tip and pipe onto the cooled, room temperature cupcakes.
- Top each caramel buttercream covered cupcake with a drizzle of chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, one chocolate covered pretzel, and a small sprig of mint. Serve immediately.
Natalie
WOW these cupcakes are gorgeous!!! I love chocolate and pretzels together!
Wajeeha
These cupcakes look SO good…they look perfect for the festive season! And happy 6th birthday to your blog! 🙂
Tara
Thanks!
Brian Jones
They look delicious, I love chocolate covered pretzels, that whole sweet and salty thing is a real favourite of mine.
Sandy @ Ginger and Scotch
Such a luscious looking cupcake – looking forward to trying this.
Tara
Hope you love it!
Linda Nortje
What a decadent dessert ! Love the idea of sauces drizzled over a cupcake, not to mention the extra touch with the chocolate covered pretzel !
Tara
Thanks!
Lisa V.
My best meal was a chef’s table dinner in the “fancy” restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton at Amelia Island, Florida. It was expensive and certainly a “splurge meal” for me and my husband, but it was great and we’ll remember it forever! It was multi-course and included items I’d not had and/or would not normally eat (e.g., mussels, oysters) but all the wine and champagne served helped us be adventurous and we enjoyed it all! For dessert, the pastry chef concocted a pastry plate for each of us depending on our preferences, andthis was followed by a plate of fancy candies. It was a wondrous meal!
Tara
Sounds like such an incredible meal!
Diane Riedel
Well, there have been excellent meals at restaurants but my favorite meal was one prepared by my Mom. For your birthday, you were allowed to pick what you wanted for dinner, I always picked Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with homemade mashed potatoes and seeded rye bread from the bakery. Oh my, what a glorious meal!
Tara
Such a great tradition! Sounds delicious
Laura Sharp
The most memorable meal for me was soup from q family we visited in Mexico, their generosity was unmatched and the soup delicious!
Tara
Sounds incredible!
Cathy P
My mom’s beef steak stroganoff cooked in her electric skillet has always been a favorite. It is simple and served over mashed potatoes. Those cupcakes look absolutely delish!
Tara
Yum!
Annette
The best meal I’ve ever had was a picnic provided by a hotel in Hawaii. They served lots of things including Beef Wellington. Not only was the food delicious, the evening was so relaxing as the breeze blew and the music played.
Tara
Sounds perfect! I really want to visit Hawaii soon.
Sarah Gillespie
Anything my husband makes really, but his chicken masala is out of this world.
Tara
That sounds perfect!
manda shank
Wow. I have had amazing meals but a mushroom tart on my honeymoon was perfection.
Tara
Wonderful!
Tim
My best meals are all in hindsight. As a kid we would go to my grandmas house every other weekend and eat dinner, and she was a great cook. I really took it for granted. Her fried chicken was the best I have ever had, and she made scratch gravy from the chicken grease.
Tara
Love this! One of my favorites was a simple pasta dish my grandmother used to make for me as a child. A little similar to a carbonara- Egg noodles tossed with parmesan, butter, and an egg, because I was so picky that I wouldn’t each much else. It just isn’t the same now when I make it.
melanie huttner
The best meal I’ve ever had was my grandma’s pot roast!
Tara
Yum!
karen
February 2009 – We eloped and celebrated at the French Laundry – a party of three – me, my husband, and my then-15-year-old daughter.
Tara
Sounds incredible!
Kim
the best meal I’ve made, cheeseburger pot pie. omg it was delish!
Tara
I remember having something like this as a kid!
Dustin Johnson
Crepes are wonderful
Tara
A favorite for me too!
Darla
A really juicy turkey, cooked just right.
Tara
Yum!
Jessica Gipson
The best meal I ever had was Authentic New Orleans Gumbo.
Tara
This was one of my favorites when we lived in the southeast
Kelly D
A cajun dish with artichokes and pasta was the best dish I ever had.
Tara
Sounds delicious!
Samantha
Those cupcakes look so tempting, perfect for a special occasion. The best meal I’ve ever had was a salad a friend made with beetroot, oranges and arugula, I couldn’t get enough of it.
Tara
Thanks! I don’t use beetroot nearly enough. Sounds wonderful
judith
a hidden izakaya in japan
Tara
Yum!
carol clark
crawfish with pasta o my goodness ive never had it but once and it was so good
Marie C
Mmm, those cupcakes look utterly delicious!
My favorite meal was actually something very simple: minted lamb and roast potatoes. The way it was cooked was just perfect. Prior to that I didn’t even think I liked lamb all that much!
Leah Sorensen
The best meal I’ve ever had was just-picked summer peaches with fresh mozzarella, basil, and fig balsamic.
Also, I can’t wait to amok those cupcakes. They look so yummy!
Trisha Musgrave
The best meal I have had was when an African friend made this really good rice and spicy sauce mix! It was the best!
Elizabeth Sul-Celline
Once I has homemade tagliatelle with a wild boar ragu- amazing!
Stephanie Grant
Oh, these look so wonderful! The best meal I’ve ever had was an authentic German dinner that one of our German exchange students made for us one evening. I can’t remember what he called it but it was so yummy!
Diane Wolf
It was a lunch my young (at the time) daughter surprised me with one day when I came home for lunch. It was a bologna and cheese sandwich with grapes and some chips on the side with a big glass of milk! She melted my heart, she said I need to eat lunch more “)
Molly
Any meal with family is the best.
Amanda Whitley
i could eat steak from a local restaurant every day and never get sick of it, they make the best steak