Spanish Dulce de Leche Cupcakes Recipe - Visit Southern Spain (2024)

If you have a sweet tooth or are craving a new dessert recipe, then you have to keep reading.

In this article, we will show you everything you need to know about dulce de leche cupcakes, one of the most delicious Spanish desserts that you will find.

Here, you will learn how to make the filled cupcakes, how to prepare the frosting from scratch, and some extra tips to succeed in the making of the recipe.

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Background of the Dish

It isn’t known what the exact date of the creation of this recipe is, but in 1950 the dulce de leche cake began to appear in cookbooks.

These dulce de leche cupcakes, like other dulce de leche recipes, arose thanks to the mix between Spanish and South American culture (where dulce de leche originated).

This type of cupcake is extremely popular, you can find it in stores in Buenos Aires, Andalusia, and even in the famous Magnolia Bakery in NYC.

With the help of this article, you can also make it yourself to enjoy it in your home.

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Things You’ll Need for Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

To make the dulce de leche cupcakes you need butter, eggs, flour, sugar, baking powder, and dulce de leche.

A pastry bag will make the frosting process easier, but you could use a spoon.

Ingredients

For the cupcake batter

• 1/2 cup (100gr) butter
• 1 cup (185gr) white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups (180gr) flour
• 1/2 cup (100ml) milk
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons Dulce de leche (plus 12 teaspoons for the filling of each cupcake – optional)

For the Buttercream

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (250gr) butter
• 2 cups (300gr) icing sugar
• 6 tablespoons Dulce de leche

*You will need 12 cupcake liners to pour the batter on (by some extra ones just in case)

How to Make Dulce de Leche Cupcakes – Step by Step Guide

1. To start making this dulce de leche recipe, grab a large bowl and put the butter at room temperature, then mix it with the white sugar. This will be faster with a stand or hand mixer, but you can do it by hand.

2. Once that mixture gets a white color and creamy texture, add the eggs (also at room temperature) one at a time.

3. Now grab a separate bowl, sift, and add the flour and baking powder. Then you can add them to the batter alternating with the milk.

4. After that, add the vanilla extract and the tablespoons of the dulce de leche. Keep mixing just until you get a hom*ogenous batter (don’t overmix it).

5. Then you can fill the cupcake liners with the help of an ice cream scoop. Put one teaspoon of dulce de leche inside of each one for the filling and place them in the oven at 180ºC (pre-heating the oven beforehand) for about 20 to 25 minutes. Insert a toothpick, if it comes out dry it is ready, if not, then leave the cupcakes on for some extra minutes.

6. When your cupcakes are cooked, let them rest for about 5 minutes inside the mold, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.

7. While the cupcakes are cooling, you can prepare the dulce de leche buttercream. In a bowl, beat the butter (at room temperature), until you get a creamy texture.

8. Gradually add the icing sugar (sift it first). Once the sugar is all incorporated with the butter, add the tablespoons of dulce de leche and beat.

9. For the final step, grab a pastry bag, and start putting the frosting on top of the cupcakes. If you don’t have a pastry bag, you can use a tablespoon. Now you can serve these dulce de leche cupcakes.

Substitution of Ingredients

We love making these dulce de leche cupcakes but changing the ingredients can be a bit tricky.

As well as other Hispanic cakes (or baked goods in general), it isn’t recommended to change the amounts of the batter, because it can ruin the whole recipe.

However, you can make substitutions to the ingredients for the filling and frosting of these dulce de leche cupcakes.

In this case, the cupcake filling recipe is as simple as grabbing one teaspoon of dulce de leche, but you can make other harder (yet tasty) cupcake fillings, such as homemade strawberry jam, salted caramel, etc.

The best icing for cupcakes is the Russian buttercream (in this case flavored with dulce de leche), but you can use other toppings such as meringue, store-bought frosting, or just spread some dulce de leche on top.

You can also decorate your dulce de leche cupcakes with pieces of biscuits, and chocolate chips, or simply drizzle a bit more dulce de leche.

Tips on Serving Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

With this recipe, you will have the perfect dulce de leche dessert, breakfast, and snack.

We recommend that you serve the dulce de leche cupcakes with coffee, tea, or any similar drink.

It is better to choose a beverage that isn’t too sweet because you already get a lot of sweetness from this dessert.

If you want to serve these cupcakes for a party or you have some guests over, then you can serve them with other Spanish baked goods such as the Spanish magdalenas or the Spanish tortas.

How to Store Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

If you are planning on storing the dulce de leche cupcakes then you must keep reading.

They can be stored for up to 5 days in the fridge, but keep in mind that the frosting might harden or form a crust on the outside (is still edible and tastes great, but it might not be so pleasant to the eye).

You can freeze the cupcakes but without the frosting, just like you would do with any other Spanish cake.

So if you know that you will have to freeze them, just make the cupcakes and make the frosting the same day that you will eat them.

There are other Spanish cake recipes that you can make and store for longer, for example, the Spanish sponge cake and the Spanish milk cake recipe.

Recipe Card: Dulce de Leche Cupcakes