These decadent high altitude chocolate truffle cupcakes are some of the most delicious cupcakes I’ve ever eaten! I filled the chocolate cupcakes with rich chocolate ganache, which gives them a soft, molten chocolate center like a creamy chocolate truffle. To complement the dark chocolate, I frosted them with fluffy, salted caramel buttercream, finished with crunchy toffee bits. They’re salty, sweet, soft, creamy and crunchy – basically all the things you want in an incredible chocolate caramel cupcake!
You might also love this chocolate truffle cake, chocolate chip cookie dough truffles, and chocolate fudge cake.
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Ingredients
Cupcakes
For the cupcakes, I turned to my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe. It’s a super moist, soft and fluffy chocolate cake recipe, developed for high altitude, and I love it so much. It makes a generous amount of batter, enough for three 8-inch cake layers, or 30 cupcakes. But for today’s chocolate truffle cupcakes, I scaled the recipe down a bit to make just 22-24 cupcakes.
Buttercream
The salted caramel buttercream is really incredible. The salt balances the sweetness in the best way, and the deep flavor of homemade salted caramel sauce is simply delicious with the chocolate cupcakes. If you’re not inclined to make your own caramel sauce, you can certainly use a jar of store bought sauce. A sprinkling of toffee bits on top of each cupcake complements the flavor of the salted caramel and adds a lovely crunch.
Ganache
For the truffle portion of my chocolate truffle cupcakes, I filled them with rich and creamy dark chocolate ganache. Ganache is made from just chocolate and heavy whipping cream, so you control the sweetness depending on the bitterness of the chocolate you use. I recommend a good-quality dark chocolate that contains around 55-60% cacao, as the rich dark chocolate is a nice contrast to the sweet caramel buttercream. I generally don’t recommend using chocolate chips for ganache, since they contain ingredients that prevent the chips from melting smoothly.
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and line two standard muffin pans with 24 paper liners. If you only have one pan, you can bake half the batter at a time, and just let the rest of the batter rest at room temperature while the first batch bakes.
- In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add the liquid ingredients, and whisk for about 10-15 seconds until well combined.
- Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to spoon the batter into the cups, filling them no more than 2/3 full.
- Bake on the center oven rack for about 18-20 minutes, until the centers spring back when lightly touched.
- Cool in the pan for 2 minutes, then gently transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before filling and frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- Add the caramel sauce and mix to combine.
- With the mixer running on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder and the vanilla, mixing until thick and combined.
- Increase speed to medium and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until light and fluffy. Taste the buttercream and add the salt as needed.
- If the buttercream is too thick, add some milk or cream, 1-2 teaspoons at a time.
Ganache
- Chop the chocolate and scrape into a bowl.
- Pour the cream into a small saucepan. Warm over medium low heat, just until it begins to simmer around the edges. Remove from the heat and pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate.
- Let the mixture stand for several minutes, then use a spatula to stir the ganache until smooth.
Assembly
- Use a cupcake corer to remove the centers of the cooled cupcakes. If you like, you can save the pieces of cake to use in a trifle.
- Before the ganache cools and thickens, spoon it into the centers of the cupcakes. If you have any ganache leftover, you can save it to drizzle over the top of the buttercream.
- Fit a piping bag with tip 6B, and fill with buttercream. Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes.
- If you like, drizzle the top of the buttercream with any leftover ganache.
- Sprinkle the tops of the cupcakes with toffee bits.
- The ganache will stay soft and molten for a while, so if you need to firm it up more quickly, just refrigerate the cupcakes for 1 hour. Take them back out of the refrigerator to serve at room temperature.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a high altitude recipe?
Yes, this is a high altitude chocolate cupcake recipe, tested at Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at low altitude or sea level, you should be able to make the recipe with a few minor adjustments, such as decreasing the flour by several tablespoons, and increasing the leavening a little. I recommend referring to this article for specific adjustments for various altitudes.
How many cupcakes does this make?
You will get 22-24 cupcakes if you fill the cups about 2/3 full.
Will this recipe work with gluten free flour?
You can definitely use a measure-for-measure gluten free flour in place of the all-purpose flour in the cupcakes.
What kind of chocolate should I use for the ganache filling?
I recommend a good-quality dark chocolate that contains around 55-60% cacao, as the rich dark chocolate is a nice contrast to the sweet caramel buttercream. I generally don’t recommend using chocolate chips for ganache, since they contain ingredients that prevent the chips from melting smoothly.
Can I use store bought salted caramel for the buttercream?
Of course! Try to get a good-quality salted caramel sauce, not a generic caramel ice cream topping.
What piping tip did you use?
I used tip 6B to pipe the caramel buttercream.
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High Altitude Chocolate Truffle Salted Caramel Cupcakes
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Whisk Attachment
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 â…“ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened, Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ½ tsp (scant) baking powder
- 1 tsp (scant) baking soda
- ¾ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 ½ tsp instant espresso powder
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
Buttercream
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- â…“ cup salted caramel sauce, homemade or store bought
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tsp meringue powder
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¼ cup toffee bits, for garnish
Ganache
- 9 oz good-quality dark chocolate, chopped
- 9 oz heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and line two standard muffin pans with 24 paper liners. If you only have one pan, you can bake half the batter at a time, and just let the rest of the batter rest at room temperature while the first batch bakes.
- In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add the liquid ingredients, and whisk for about 10-15 seconds until well combined.
- Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to spoon the batter into the cups, filling them no more than 2/3 full.
- Bake on the center oven rack for about 18-20 minutes, until the centers spring back when lightly touched.
- Cool in the pan for 2 minutes, then gently transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before filling and frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- Add the caramel sauce and mix to combine.
- With the mixer running on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder and the vanilla, mixing until thick and combined.
- Increase speed to medium and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until light and fluffy. Taste the buttercream and add the salt as needed.
- If the buttercream is too thick, add some milk or cream, 1-2 teaspoons at a time.
Ganache
- Chop the chocolate and scrape into a bowl.
- Pour the cream into a small saucepan. Warm over medium low heat, just until it begins to simmer around the edges. Remove from the heat and pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate.
- Let the mixture stand for several minutes, then use a spatula to stir the ganache until smooth.
Assembly
- Use a cupcake corer to remove the centers of the cooled cupcakes. If you like, you can save the pieces of cake to use in a trifle.
- Before the ganache cools and thickens, spoon it into the centers of the cupcakes. If you have any ganache leftover, you can save it to drizzle over the top of the buttercream.
- Fit a piping bag with tip 6B, and fill with buttercream. Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes.
- If you like, drizzle the top of the buttercream with any leftover ganache.
- Sprinkle the tops of the cupcakes with toffee bits.
- The ganache will stay soft and molten for a while, so if you need to firm it up more quickly, just refrigerate the cupcakes for 1 hour. Take them back out of the refrigerator to serve at room temperature.
These look fabulous..adding to my list of "must try". Thank you for sharing!
Are your recipes already altered for high altitude? Since most aren't, I usually add more flour, even for cookie dough. I don't want to ruin something you've tested here.
Yes, I'm in Denver and at 5,000 feet elevation, so no changes are needed if you're also at high altitude. 🙂
I am making these for my daughter’s wedding. My sister in law suggested making the cupcakes ahead of time and freezing them. Will this work with the ganache?
Yes, ganache freezes just fine.
How do I adapt this recipe to work at almost sea level?!
You’ll probably need to reduce the flour by 2-4 tablespoons, and increase the leavening slightly. I’d suggest reading this article for guidance: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking. Happy baking!
For the ganache, you’re recipe says 9oz for both the heavy cream and the chocolate. Could you break down the cream in cup measurement? I don’t have the most accurate food scale. Thank you.
9 oz of cream will be approximately 1 cup + 1 tablespoon.
Thank you, I will be making these cupcakes for a birthday party in two days. I made your lemon cupcakes twice now and they turned out beautifully at 8600 elevation with no adjustments.