Frito Caramel Cupcakes

I am pretty sure I just made up that word, fickle-dom. Anyway, guilty pleasures help ward off the January post holiday doldrums. When visiting the States over the years I lived in overseas, I always tucked big bag of another guilty pleasure, Fritos, in my suitcase to bring back. Germany is a Frito free country. No corn chips either. And what look like Cheese Doodles taste of peanut butter. They are called Flips and my husband loves them. Don’t ask. It’s a sad state of snack affairs in German supermarkets. 

I bookmarked these fabulous frito cupcakes on Beantown Bakers site awhile back and I’ve been meaning to make my own version. So let’s perk things up with some guilty pleasure inspired fun flavored cupcakes.

For the Frito Cupcakes:
(Adapted from Magnolia Bakery’s Vanilla cupcake recipe)


Ingredients:

• 1+1/2 cups AP flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1lb) butter, softened
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 cup dark brown firmly packed brown sugar
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 +1/2 cups crushed Fritos or corn chips
• 1 jar of caramel sauce

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line two cupcake pans with liners.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl and set aside.
• Pulverize the Fritos/corn chips in a food processor. Set aside 1/2 cup for decoration.

• Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time and combine thoroughly.
• Mix in vanilla.
• Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternating each, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
• Mix in one cup of the crushed Fritos/corn chips.
• Spoon or use a pastry bag or pipe batter into the liners.
• Bake about 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out dry.
• Remove and transfer cupcakes to cool completely.
• Use a teaspoon to create a shallow hole of the center of each cupcakes and fill with caramel sauce.
• Makes 24 cupcakes

For the Caramel Buttercream:
(Adapted from Magnolia Bakery’s Vanilla Buttercream recipe)


Ingredients:

• 2 sticks softened butter
• 6-8 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons caramel sauce plus some for decoration
• 1/2 cup crushed Fritos or corn chips (see above) for decoration

• Mix together butter, buttermilk and two cups of the powdered sugar.
• Gradually add the rest of the sugar one cup at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
• Mix in the caramel sauce.
• Load into a pastry bag and swirl the frosting onto the cupcakes.
• Sprinkle the crushed chips over the top and then drizzle the caramel.
• If you like, push in a single Frito/corn chip on the peak of the frosting.