Simply the best German chocolate cupcakes, starting with my high altitude recipe for soft, moist and fluffy chocolate cupcakes. The cupcakes are filled with gooey coconut pecan caramel frosting (with a hint of bourbon), then finished with a swirl of chocolate buttercream.
You might also love these chocolate toffee crunch cupcakes, red velvet cupcakes, and tiramisu cupcakes.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to Make. Although you’ll need to make cupcakes, filling and buttercream, you’ll find that each step is simple, and comes together quickly.
Moist for Days. The chocolate cupcakes are already a very moist cupcake. But with the caramel filling, they stay extra soft and moist for days after baking.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Chocolate Cupcakes. My High Altitude Chocolate Cupcakes always bake up so moist and light, and they’re a wonderful base cupcake recipe for so many flavor variations. This is a darker chocolate cake, rather than the mild chocolate cake that’s typically associated with German chocolate cupcakes.
- Chocolate Buttercream. For the buttercream, I made chocolate buttercream, using my perfect American buttercream recipe.
- Caramel Filling/Frosting. You’ll need heavy whipping cream, dark brown sugar, egg yolks, butter, vanilla, pecans and coconut. The bourbon is optional.
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Prepare 1 recipe High Altitude Chocolate Cupcakes.
- Cool completely before filling and frosting.
Caramel Filling
- In a saucepan, whisk together the cream, brown sugar and egg yolks until smooth. Cook over medium low heat, whisking constantly, until thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla, bourbon, pecans, coconut and salt. Cover and let cool at room temperature for several hours.
Chocolate Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and meringue powder until combined. Add the salt, vanilla and milk, and whip on medium high until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.
Assembly
- To assemble, use a cupcake corer to remove the centers of each cupcake. Spoon some of the caramel filling into the centers.
- Fit a large piping bag with tip 1M, and fill with chocolate buttercreams. Pipe a swirl of buttercream around the edge of the cupcakes.
- Spoon more of the caramel filling into the center of the buttercream.
- If you like, sprinkle the top of the cupcakes with toffee bits.
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
If you leave the bourbon out and the filling seems too thick, you can thin it out with a little water.
My chocolate cupcake recipe is a dark chocolate cake, rather than the sweet, mild chocolate typically associated with German chocolate cake.
Tip 1M.
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High Altitude German Chocolate 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 Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 recipe High Altitude Chocolate Cupcakes (yields 15)
Caramel Filling
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp bourbon (optional)
- ⅔ cup pecans, roughly chopped
- ⅔ cup shredded or flaked coconut, either sweetened or natural/unsweetened
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
Chocolate Buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 ⅓ cups powdered sugar
- ⅔ cup Dutch-processed, unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp meringue powder
- ⅛ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp milk, if needed for consistency
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Prepare 1 recipe High Altitude Chocolate Cupcakes.
- Cool completely before filling and frosting.
Filling
- In a saucepan, whisk together the cream, brown sugar and egg yolks until smooth. Cook over medium low heat, whisking constantly, until thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla, bourbon, pecans, coconut and salt. Cover and let cool at room temperature for several hours.
Chocolate Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and meringue powder until combined. Add the salt, vanilla and milk, and whip on medium high until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.
Assembly
- To assemble, use a cupcake corer to remove the centers of each cupcake. Spoon some of the caramel filling into the centers.
- Fit a large piping bag with tip 1M, and fill with chocolate buttercreams. Pipe a swirl of buttercream around the edge of the cupcakes.
- Spoon more of the caramel filling into the center.
- If you like, sprinkle the top of the cupcakes with toffee bits.
Video
Notes
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