Sweet Mother of Caramel!

I love Dulce de leche!  But it isn't a cheap buy as I've learned, and a lot of supermarkets don't necessarily stock this item. So I was excited to learn that you can buy a nice economical can of sweetened condensed milk, put it in the crock pot over night for 8 hrs, making sure that the label is removed and the can is totally submerged underwater and after 8 hrs..wala!!! Dulce de Leche.  What is Dulce de leche? Dulce de leche is the most common name for milk caramel in Spanish. Made as both a thick jam and a caramel candy, it is prepared by slowly heating sweetened milk to create a product that derives its taste from caramelized sugar. It is divine!   So, having said this, over the weekend I will bake my sweet little family Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Dulce de leche filling and Dulce de Leche Buttercream frosting.
This recipe is courtesy of Nam over at The Culinary Chronicles http://theculinarychronicles.com/   I hope I do her cupcakes justice and thank you Nam for sharing. Now without futher ado:

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes filled with Dulce de Leche and Dulce de Leche Buttercream

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes (Adapted from Cupcakes by Elinor Klivans)

Ingredients:
1 ¼ Cups All Purpose Flour
½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ Teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ Teaspoon Salt
2 Large Eggs (room temperature)
1 Cup Vanilla Sugar or 1 cup granulated sugar
½ Cup Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
1 Tablespoon Good Quality Vanilla Extract
Seeds from 1 Vanilla Bean Pod
½ Cup Sour Cream

*Dulce de Leche

*Vanilla Sugar
Take the scraped Vanilla Bean Pod and bury into one cup of granulated sugar. Cover for a minimum of 5 days, stirring every other day.

Preheat the oven to 350°degrees and place paper liners in pans.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a standing mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together until light and creamy for about 2 minutes. Add the butter, vanilla bean seeds, and vanilla extract. Mix until well incorporated. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients until well blended. Fold in sour cream until smooth and well incorporated.

Fill each lined cup ½ to 2/3 full. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes (for mini cupcakes) or 15-22 minutes for standard cupcakes, rotating halfway between baking time. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean. Cool completely in pans on top of a wire rack. While cupcakes are cooling, prepare frosting.

Dulce de Leche Buttercream Frosting

3 to 4 Cups Confectioners Sugar (sifted)
½ Cup Unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 to 3 Tablespoons Dulce de Leche


 In a large mixer bowl, whip the butter for several minutes until very light and fluffy. Slowly add the confectioners sugar until the butter becomes thicker and stiff. Add the Dulce de Leche and whip until combined. If needed, add a few more spoons of confectioners sugar until desired consistency is reached.


When cupcakes are thoroughly cooled, fill a piping bag with a small tip and the Dulce de Leche. Carefully insert the tip into the cupcake and slowly fill each cake with desired amount.

Fill another piping bag with the prepared Dulce de Leche frosting. Frost and decorate and enjoy.