Cupcake Vertigo: Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes

These are probably the best cupcakes I have ever made. People really seem to like the icing, which is fascinating since I f'd it up royally. Between the swirly decoration and the sugar buzz people are getting off of them, I'm calling them "Vertigo Cupcakes."

Here's the order I followed when making them:

1. START THE ICING FIRST - it has to cool. We'll get into this in further down the page.
2. Chocolate decorations - Sure, you could make them while waiting on your cakes to bake, thus feeling like you saved time -- but did I mention that the icing has to cool completely?
   
3. Make the Cake

BLACK MAGIC CUPCAKE RECIPE
I did not alter this recipe in any way other than bake times for the smaller cakes: Black Magic Cake.

It made a perfect 24 cupcakes. I baked at the recommended 350^oF, and they were done withing 14-15 minutes for me (as usual, they are done with a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs).

SALTED CARAMEL ICING RECIPE
The original recipe can be found here. I made several adjustments, and had issues, so I'm going to walk you through it.

• 1 pound light brown sugar
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• added: 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• added: 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• added: 1/2 tsp sea salt
  

1. In a medium, heavy saucepan, bring the sugar, cream, and vanilla to a rolling boil. Boil one minute.
2. Add soda, and boil one more minute.
3. Remove from heat. Add butter, but do not stir yet. Let the mixture cool. NOTE: Many commenters on this recipe had issues with the icing never taking shape -- I had this issue myself. I think this is the critical point where the problem arises - LET THIS STUFF COOL COMPLETELY. I hypothesize that letting it refrigerate overnight and possibly adding softened butter after this full cooling may help solve the problem. Haven't tried that, though.
4. Toss in the sea salt and beat well. If this mixture doesn't thicken, add in the confectioners' sugar a little bit at a time until it is a firmer consistency. Allowing it to cool completely will strengthen the icing, so don't feel the need to overdo it. Stir in pecans if desired.

People at my office loved the icing. Some loved it so much, in fact, that I may continue to make it the failure way - not letting it cool completely, adding the butter in while the caramel is still warm, putting a whole ton of extra sugar in, etc.

CHOCOLATE SWIRL DECORATION

• Prepare a cookie sheet with a sheet of wax paper
  
• Place chocolate chips in a little plastic bag
• Microwave for 30 sec - 1 minute, stir, then continue at 10 second intervals until fully melted
• Cut a little corner off the bag and squeeze chocolate spirals onto your wax paper - do this a little thick; they will be fragile regardless, but if they are thicker you have a better chance of them not breaking
• Refrigerate - once fully cooled and hardened (this takes minutes), use a thin metal spatula to gentle lift them off the plastic
• Garnish your cupcakes