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!
Tender butternut squash cupcakes topped with creamy salted caramel frosting taste like fall in a cupcake! Recipe adapted from Tracey's Culinary AdventuresButternut Squash Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
For the buttercream frosting:
Instructions
Notes
Monday Fall Recipes
- Apple Butternut Squash Casserole by That Recipe
- Apple Pie Tacos Recipe by Blogghetti
- Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars by Lemon Blossoms
- Apple Tea-ramisu by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
- Butternut Squash Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls by Sweet Beginnings
- 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
- Grilled Apple and Pear Salad with Maple Walnut Vinaigrette by Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Meyer Lemon Scones by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Pear Almond Crumble Pie by Savory Moments
- Pear Brown Betty by Cookaholic Wife
- Plum Kuchen by Palatable Pastime
- Scalloped Potatoes with Sweet Potatoes, Fennel, and Leeks by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- 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.
Ashley Marie Lecker
I bet the squash makes these so moist and delicious! I love the sound of the icing too.
Rebecca
Can’t wait to hide Squash in cupcakes, I bet they are so moist and delicious!
Christie
Squash? In cupcakes? GENIUS!! I still have mine and am totally stealing this idea. I’ll bake and take to work. I’m sure they’ll love them. They look delicious!
HezziD
I love it because it adds in some nutrition and it really tastes like pumpkin!
inger@artofnaturalliving.com
So pretty with the little pools of caramel on the frosting. I had read that butternut is often what you get when you buy canned “pumpkin”
Jolene
I don’t know if the salted caramel frosting would even make it onto the cupcakes, I’d just be spooning it into my mouth! Yum!
Amy (Savory Moments)
I am a big butternut squash fan in all ways, but using it in baked goods is always a great idea! These cupcakes look delicious and scream fall!
Karen
I love that this is how you used the butternut squash! And those caramel drizzles are calling my name.
Cindy
Squash makes sense as a pumpkin substitute for baking. These cupcakes with caramel sound like fall!
Lisa Kerhin
I love this recipe! I can use up my squash with this baked yumminess.
Wendy Klik
Such lovely cupcakes. I am not a huge frosting lover but that buttercream covered in caramel is calling to me.