Holiday Edition Asphalt Pie Cupcake

Asphalt Pie Cupcake - milk chocolate cupcake with a mint oreo buttercream, glazed with a salted caramel.

I bounced between the name asphalt pie cupcake and grasshopper cupcake, but grasshopper desserts don't usually have caramel, and not everyone knows what asphalt pie is. So, I came up with the name Grasshopper Caramel cupcake. 

For more St. Patrick day recipes, I have listed them below.

• Lemon Pistacho Bundt Cake
• Delectable And Easy Oreo Peanut Butter Cake

Why Asphalt Pie Cupcakes?

• Easy to make - I love cupcakes for the simplicity, but also they complexity that they have. Small and mighty!
• Mint and caramel combo - don't knock it until you try it.
• Cupcake - buttercream swirl and topped with an oreo? Yes, please!

How to make the best cupcakes

I have struggled with making perfectly round cupcakes for the longest time! I always overfill them. I feel like all recipes call for filling the cupcake liner ¾ of the way full, but I have learned that if you just fill your cupcake liners a little over halfway, they will rise perfectly every time. 

Mint Oreo Buttercream 

Here's an overview for making the best buttercream:

• Sift your powdered sugar
• Use slightly cold butter and mix on its own for 2 to 3 minutes
• Use high quality heavy whipping cream and beat for 5 minutes
• Add Amerigel Food Gel, no liquid
• Mix the Oreos in by hand with a rubber spatula 

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Recipe

Grasshopper Caramel Cupcake

Molly Murphy

Chocolate cupcake with a Minto oreo frosting, and a caramel sauce drizzle

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For the Chocolate cupcakes

• ½ C 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup dark cocoa powder
• 1 ⅓ cups buttermilk room temperature

For the Mint Oreo buttercream

• 1 cup unsalted butter slightly chilled
• 3 cups powdered sugar measured and then sifted
• 2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• ½ teaspoon mint extract
• Pinch of salt
• Green food gel optional I prefer Americolor
• 3 Mint Oreos finely crushed (this is important to make sure chunks don't get stuck in your piping tip)

For the Caramel sauce

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 3 Tablespoons light corn syrup
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 Tablespoons butter

Instructions

 

For the Cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 350 and line cupcake pans with 20 liners.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars for 3 minutes. With a rubber spatula, scrape down the bowl and beat again for 2 more minutes.
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping the bowl. Add the vanilla and mix again.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
• With the mixer on the lowest speed, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the mixer. Start with ⅓ of the dry ingredients then ½ of the buttermilk, repeat and finish the dry ingredients.
• With a piping bag or a ziplock bag, fill the cup cake liners ⅔ full.
• Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached.
• Cool completely while you prepare the buttercream.

For the Mint Oreo buttercream

• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium-high speed for about two minutes.
• With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the sifted powdered sugar until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to mix for another minute.
• Add the mint, salt, and heavy cream. Mix on low. Once the cream is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat the frosting for five minutes. It should get lighter in texture and color. Add the food gel, if using. Beat until blended.
• With a rubber spatula, stir in the cookie crumbs.

For the Caramel sauce

• In a medium sized sauce pan, stir together the water, sugar, and the corn syrup.
• On medium heat, bring the sugar to a boil. The bubbles will start off fast and small, but once it starts caramelizing, the bubbles will slow down and become a little bigger. Do not touch or stir the mixture. That will cause crystallization.
• Let it boil until the mixture becomes caramelized and looks golden brown. This does take a few minutes, but once it starts turning brown, it's easy for it to burn, so keep an eye on it.
• Put the cream in the microwave for 1 minute.
• Once the caramel is ready for the cream, turn off the heat on the sugar mixture and add the warm cream, being careful that it doesn't burn you. Mix the caramel mixture until evenly combined.
• Pour the mixture into a bowl. Add the vanilla, salt, and butter and let it sit until the butter melts. Stir once the butter is melted.

Assembly

• Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, use a Wilton 1M piping tip to pipe a spiral on top of the cupcake. Drizzle the caramel on top and add a whole mint Oreo right into the middle of the frosting. For a fun texture, sprinkle the Oreo crumbs on top.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!