Chocolate Stuffed Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Caramel Icing

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To me, fall isn’t fall without sweet potatoes. Specifically, the sweet potato casserole we grew up eating every Thanksgiving. That was always my FAVORITE part of Thanksgiving, followed by the crescent roll bread and a chocolate pie for dessert. It was definitely my favorite part of the meal because it’s basically dessert disguised as a side dish, and that’s something my taste buds can get behind at any age.

I realized, though, that the casserole is really the only time I make something special with sweet potatoes during the season. That had to be remedied immediately and that’s why I created this Chocolate Stuffed Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Caramel Icing recipe! This recipe is CRAZY good. Like, get these cupcakes away from me because I’m going to eat them all good. What’s your favorite way to enjoy sweet potatoes this time of year?

By the way, I find it extremely confusing and difficult to figure out which potato to buy at the store given how often sweet potatoes and yams are used interchangeably to refer to different things in recipes and at the grocery store! I usually just buy whichever has the most orange beta-carotene loaded flesh and go with that because just this past week I noticed the names completely swapped at two different stores. What’s up with that?

If you make these Chocolate Stuffed Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Caramel Icing, be sure to take a picture and tag it #handletheheat on Instagram. I love seeing your photos!

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How to make

Chocolate Stuffed Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Caramel Icing

Yield: 20 cupcakes

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Inactive Time 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Chocolate Stuffed Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Caramel Icing are my favorite fall season cupcakes! They're just bursting with incredible flavors and textures.

Ingredients

For the filling:

• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the cupcakes:

• 2 cups (9 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups cooked and mashed sweet potato puree
• ½ cup buttermilk or milk

For the icing:

• 15 caramel candies, unwrapped
• 1/4 cup milk, divided
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

To make the filling:

1. In a small saucepan combine the chocolate, cream, and butter. Stir over low heat until the chocolate is melted. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool for 15 minutes. Cover and freeze about 1 hour, or until fudge-like consistency. Divide chocolate filling into 20 equal portions about 2 teaspoons each and roll into balls. Place in freezer.

To make the cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 standard muffin tins with 20 paper liners. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. Add in the vanilla and sweet potatoes. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternatively, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat just until combined. Divide half of the batter among the cupcake cups. Place a ball of chocolate into the center of each cup. Top evenly with the remaining batter. Bake 18 to 20 minutes. Cool completely.

To make the icing:

1. Combine the caramel candies and 2 tablespoons of milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between bursts, until the caramels are melted. Stir in the salt. Let cool until the sauce is soft but still pliable. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar and the remaining 2 tablespoons of the milk and beat until very well combined, about 2 minutes. Beat the cooled caramel sauce into the frosting until combined. Spread over cupcakes. Serve or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Recipe Notes

To make the sweet potato puree I took 2 large sweet potatoes, pierced all over with a fork, and microwaved 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Let cool before scooping the flesh out and pureeing with a blender or food processor. Measure 1 1/2 cups before adding to recipe.

Course : Dessert

Cuisine : American

Recipe by Tessa Arias

Author: Tessa Arias

I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)