Butternut Squash Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

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This post is sponsored in conjunction with #FallFlavors Week. I received product samples from sponsor companies to help in the creation of the #FallFlavors Week recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

Tender butternut squash cupcakes topped with creamy salted caramel frosting taste like fall in a cupcake!

I will be the first to admit that butternut squash is never one of my go to vegetables.  It takes a while to cook, the flavor is a little bland, and I haven’t found many recipes that use it that wow me.

However, I love using it in baked goods because it tastes really similar to pumpkin but with a bit of nuttiness to it.   Jazzed up with spices it’s delicious in cakes, cupcakes, and cookies.

I received a butternut squash in my box of produce from Melissa’s Produce and immediately started thinking about cupcakes.  I knew to start off I had to get it down to a puree so the first step was to cook it.   While you can certainly roast it in the oven I went the easy way and cut it into cubes and steamed it in a steamer bag in the microwave.

After cooking the squash you puree it in a food processor or blender.  I always add a little bit of water to make it blend more smoothly.  Then you combine the butternut squash puree with spices, butter, and Dixie Crystals granulated and brown sugars. I always like to add in a bit of vanilla to give it a hint of added flavor and mixed in vanilla bean paste from Taylor and Colledge.

One that is mixed together you mix in the dry ingredients and put the cupcakes into muffin cups.  Then you bake them.  Once they are cooled you can start on the salted caramel buttercream frosting.

The frosting is just a basic buttercream with caramel sauce and sea salt in it.  I used powdered sugar, milk, Torani Puremade Caramel Sauce, sea salt, and Taylor and Colledge vanilla bean paste.

The frosting pairs well with the cupcakes because the cupcakes are lightly sweetened but have a lot of different spices in them.  The frosting is sweet but the sea salt balances it out perfectly.   The first bite tastes like fall and it’s delicious!

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Butternut Squash Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

Yield: 1 dozen cupcakes

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 22 minutes

Total Time: 52 minutes

Tender butternut squash cupcakes topped with creamy salted caramel frosting taste like fall in a cupcake!

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Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 1/2 c. butter
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon Taylor and Colledge vanilla bean paste
• 1 c. butternut squash, cooked and pureed
• 1 c. flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the buttercream frosting:

• 1 c. butter, softened
• 4 c. powdered sugar
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 3 Tablespoons caramel syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon Taylor and Colledge vanilla bean paste
• 1 t. sea salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
3. Stir in the eggs. Add the vanilla bean paste and the butternut squash and mix well.
4. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
6. Fill the muffin cups all 3/4 of the way full with the cupcake batter.
7. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
8. To make the frosting put the butter in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until smooth.
9. Add the powdered sugar a half cup at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition, until you have added 3 cups.
10. Add the milk and caramel sauce and mix well.
11. Add the remaining powdered sugar until the frosting is the desired consistency.
12. Mix in the vanilla bean paste and sea salt by hand.
13. Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Drizzle with additional frosting if desired.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures

Monday Fall Recipes

• Apple Butternut Squash Casserole by That Recipe
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• Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars by Lemon Blossoms
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• Caramel Apple Crisp by Big Bears Wife
• Caramel Apple Empanadas by Take Two Tapas
• Caramel Apple Ice Cream Pie by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Caramel Apple Spice Cupcakes by Daily Dish Recipes
• Caramel Apple Tea Cake by An Affair from the Heart
• Caramel Swirl Pound Cake by Family Around the Table
• Creamy Sweet Potato and Sunchoke Soup by Eat Move Make
• Easy Sausage And Veggies Sheet Pan Dinner by Intelligent Domestications
• Fall Harvest Potato Beet Soup by Frugal & Fit
• Fall Punch Mocktail by Kate’s Recipe Box
• Fall Vegetable Breakfast Hash by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Green Appletini Martini by Art of Natural Living
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• Smashed Roasted Rosemary & Garlic Potatoes by Simple and Savory
• Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Toasted Pecan Filling by Books n’ Cooks
• Sunchoke Ricotta Gnocchi with Walnut Thyme Butter Sauce by The Spiffy Cookie

Thank you #FallFlavors Week Sponsors: Melissa’s Produce, Torani, Republic of Tea, Taylor & College, and Nairn’s  for providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for #FallFlavors Week recipes. All opinions are my own.