These sweet potato caramel cupcakes are moist and delicious and topped with a delicious toasted marshmallow topping! Sweet potato is the secret ingredient that makes these cupcakes moist and flavorful.
I don't typically consider myself a competitive person. I never played team sports growing up and I'm not a massive fan of board games. One thing that does get me in a competitive spirit is baking. Baking competitions send me into a frenzy of recipe planning and plotting to devise the most delectable prize-worthy dessert.
Fall baking competition
Three weeks ago it was announced that we would have a fall baking competition at work. Since then, I have done a lot of thinking about what makes the perfect fall dessert. I went back and forth thinking of different recipes that combine my favorite fall ingredients. Apples, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, squash... the list could go on forever. After a careful process of elimination I was able to hone in on one ingredient that I thought would be the key to my victory. Sweet Potatoes.
Why you'll love this recipe
So let's talk about these cupcakes a little bit. I actually adapted a spice cake recipe and swapped out the pumpkin for sweet potato. I'm a big fan of the complex flavor sweet potato adds when baking. I filled the cupcakes with caramel, creating a special surprise when someone takes their first bite. I topped the cupcakes with a basic seven-minute frosting made from egg whites and sugar.
I used my new kitchen torch to apply heat to the frosting and create a toasted marshmallow finish as a final touch. The result is a decadent dessert with a truly unique combination of flavors. Flavors good enough to win TWO prizes in the baking competition for visual appeal and creativity. So what are you waiting for? Give these mini cupcakes a try before winter is officially here!
Heather's helpful hints
This recipe calls for cream of tartar when whipping your egg whites. My secret is that this ingredient isn't absolutely essential to the success of your frosting. Don't fret if you don't have any at home in your pantry.
What cream of tartar does is help stabilize your egg whites and give them volume. It also helps with preventing crystallization of the sugar, making your frosting creamier. However, despite these benefits, the average person probably won't be able to tell if you leave this secret ingredient out.
Recipe
Sweet Potato Caramel Cupcakes
Equipment
- 24 cup miniature muffin tin
Ingredients
Cupcake Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes about 2 to 3 medium or 2 large
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup caramel sauce store-bought
Frosting Ingredients
- 3 large egg whites
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Roast Sweet Potatoes
- Heat oven to 375 degrees. Prick potatoes all over with a fork. Rest on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, turning once or twice, until soft. Let cool completely. It can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days if baked in advance.
Make Cupcakes
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place the rack in the middle of the oven. Fill a miniature muffin pan with foil liners. Peel cooled sweet potatoes and run flesh through a potato ricer, or mash until very smooth. (Do not blend in a blender or food processor.) Measure 1 ½ packed cups (about 12 to 13 ounces) from sweet potato mash; you may have a little extra, which you should warm up with a pat of butter and sprinkle of sea salt and not share with anyone. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices together in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add vanilla and eggs, and beat until just combined. Mix in sweet potato puree, then stir in dry ingredients just until they disappear. Spread batter in prepared muffin pan, and bake cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. Let cupcakes rest in pan for 5 minutes on a cooling rack, then remove onto cooling rack, and let cool completely. You can speed this up, as I always do, in the fridge.
Fill Cupcakes
- Fit a pastry bag with a small to medium-sized round tip. Fill pastry bag with high-quality store-bought caramel. Insert the tip of the pastry bag into the center of the cupcake and apply medium pressure to release approximately one teaspoon of caramel filling into the cupcake.
Make Frosting
- Place egg whites, granulated sugar, a pinch of salt and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Whisk mixture for 3 minutes, until whites are warmed and sugar granules feels mostly dissolved. Remove bowl from top of saucepan, then, with an electric mixer, beat egg white mixture on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 4 to 7 minutes longer. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
Frost and Decorate
- If you’d like to make huge, marshmallow-like dollops, use a very large round piping tip or the corner snipped off a freezer bag. Pipe large dollops of frosting on each cupcake. Using a kitchen torch, lightly brown the dollops so that they look (and smell!) like toasted marshmallows.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?! First, let me say THANK YOU for giving it a try!
Please leave us a rating and feedback in the comments section at the bottom of this post. I always love to hear your thoughts and ideas on what went well — and didn't — with a recipe!
Happy Baking!
Heather
milkandbun
Oh my! That frosting looks fantastic!!!!
Heather @ Sweet Precision
Thank you! It was my first time trying that type of frosting but it's one of my favorites now :)
Sherri
Amazing and congratulations Heather! First prize all the way so far as I'm concerned :-)
Heather @ Sweet Precision
Thank you Sherri :)
Lilly Sue
WOW, these are beautiful and look amazing!
Heather @ Sweet Precision
Thank you!!
Tracy Lee Karner
Definitely a winner! The title and the picture almost made me drool (only I didn't, because I'm too inhibited to drool, even when I'm sitting alone in my office). I'll be baking these! You're brilliant. <3
Heather @ Sweet Precision
The worst part is that I had some extra leftover cupcakes which had me drooling myself! I will admit to eating four mini cupcakes for breakfast on Monday morning. They were ever so tasty and I was feeling great until my sugar high vanished and I was exhausted at work. I guess it’s true that everything in moderation is best ;)
Tracy Lee Karner
Definitely true. But an occasional sugar binge also serves to remind us why we don't do them often. :)
Just Add Attitude
Congratulations on your two prizes your look so inviting and delicious. I wish I could have one, I love your idea of adding caramel that's such a lovely surprise element. Well done I admire your creativity.
Heather @ Sweet Precision
Thank you! It's fun to break the mold and something out of the box sometimes :-)
Mom
Thank goodness Thanksgiving is almost here. I have been looking forward to your desert for some weeks and am now almost in a frenzy of excitement having seen the pictures! I can only imagine how delicious the caramel filling is....expecially if it is a surprise. Rest well so you have plenty of energy to get desert done!!
Heather @ Sweet Precision
I'm so excited make the dessert in a cake form for Thanksgiving! I'm thinking to round layers with caramel in between and topped with marshmallow. YUM :)
Zoale.com
Congratulations! I love the 'toasted marshmallow' look you achieved! They look yummy :)
Heather @ Sweet Precision
Thank you! I think toasting the "marshmallows" was my favorite part of the entire baking process :)
CakePants
Wow, these look fantastic! I love the sweet potato and "marshmallow" combination. I also love the idea of a baking competition...I wish my work had one of those!
Heather @ Sweet Precision
One of the best parts of a baking competition is getting recipes from all the other people that made dishes you enjoyed. I've got a few more desserts that I'm excited to try out now :)
emmabarrett1508
You can definitely see your competitive side here Heather. These look amazing. I wish you could post me one. Emma xx
Heather @ Sweet Precision
Thank you Emma! I wish there were some left for me to munch on ;)
Mina
TWO prizes!! Yay!! Sure does make-up for last year, right? ;-)
Mina
P.S. They look amazing!
Heather @ Sweet Precision
Yes, it was the perfect vindication for me! And now I can rest assured that when I make this for Thanksgiving we will actually enjoy it :)
Arielle
Oh wow they look so incredibly delicious <3
Heather @ Sweet Precision
Thank you!!