Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Frappe cupcake recipe
MAKE THESE AMAZING STARBUCKS CARAMEL MACCHIATO CUPCAKES FOR THE COFFEE LOVER IN YOUR LIFE! BAKED IN MINI ESPRESSO CUPS, FILLED WITH CARAMEL WHIP AND DRIZZLED WITH CARAMEL, THEY ARE PERFECT FOR A COFFEE THEMED PARTY OR SHOWER.
UPDATE: Many of our readers have been asking how to adjust this recipe because they can’t currently find the Royal Macchiato Instant Pudding Mix. We’re hoping stores carry them again soon!! But in the meantime, here’s what we’d do: Duncan Hines makes a caramel cake mix. You can use the caramel cake mix, vanilla pudding, and then an extra VIA. It’ll taste great!
A few years ago, my beautiful sisters threw a bridal shower for me… Starbucks themed!!! They put a whole lot of thought and time into it and there were so many little decorations and treats all to match the theme, from little candles on the table nestled in coffee beans, letting off an aroma of fresh coffee in the air, to a big streamer made of coffee filters, to a huge ‘custom drinks’ coffee bar, to several copycat recipe Starbucks treats. Such a fun theme for a party!
A friend recently asked me to make these little frappe cupcakes for her daughter’s 18th birthday party. I went to Starbucks and asked them if I could purchase some of their little sample espresso cups… they gave me a pack of 50 and assured me I did not need to pay for them! They also gave me plenty of straws, which I cut into thirds to stick in the tops of the cupcakes.
The espresso cups are perfect cupcake size. I used basically the same amount of batter I would use in a normal cupcake liner.
Adding VIA instant coffee to the batter gives it that true Starbucks taste. So good!
The filling is very light… a light whipped cream with caramel sauce stirred in. I used a decorating bag and my large cupcake tip, plunged it into each cake, and gave a small squeeze until I saw the cupcake swell just a little. It’s a very quick and easy way to fill cupcakes.
I love how the buttercream resembles a mound of whip, just like a frappe! I kept it a little more stiff than I normally would for cupcakes, but I wanted to make sure the frosting was stiff enough to hold up the caramel and it worked perfect. After I frosted the cupcakes, I chilled them so they were cold when the I drizzled the caramel. Several hours later the caramel looked just like when I put them together.
See the recipe below for some amazing Caramel Macchiato Cupcakes!
UPDATE: Many of our readers have been asking how to adjust this recipe because they can’t currently find the Royal Macchiato Instant Pudding Mix. We’re hoping stores carry them again soon!! But in the meantime, here’s what we’d do: Duncan Hines makes a caramel cake mix. You can use the caramel cake mix, vanilla pudding, and then an extra VIA. It’ll taste great!
Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Frappe Cupcakes
A delicious caramel-whip filled espresso cake topped with buttercream and caramel drizzle.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 french vanilla cake mix
- 1 cup oil
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup milk
- 4 eggs
- 1 package Royal Caramel Macchiato pudding mix
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 VIA instant coffee, Columbian Roast
Filling
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 3 Tbs Hershey's Caramel sauce
Frosting
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 2 lb bag powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 c milk
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Mix all ingredients and beat 2 minutes. Fill cupcake liners halfway and bake at 350° until a toothpick comes out clean, about 12-15 minutes.
Filling
- Beat cream on high until stiff peaks form, slowly beat in powered sugar. Fold in caramel sauce.
Frosting
- Beat butter until creamy. Beat in powered sugar a little at a time. Add vanilla and enough milk for desired consistency and beat on high for 4 minutes.
- After cupcakes have cooled, pipe a mound of caramel whip into the center of each cupcake. Top with a frosting mound and drizzle with caramel. For the look of a frappe, shorten a green straw and stick it out of the cupcake toward one side.
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Michelle
April 24, 2017Oh my! This one is super Pinterest-worthy! They look SO GOOD! I didn’t even know that pudding flavor existed either!
Camille
October 16, 2018Question…is the sample espresso cup smaller than the small cup? I went and they gave me a small cup but they are definately bigger than a regular cupcake.
Elisabeth Judy
October 22, 2018The little cups I used were slightly larger than a cupcake liner, but I only filled them with enough batter to make sure the cake did not quite reach the top of the cup. This allowed the whip to start below the rim of the cup giving the same appearance as a frappe.
I don’t have any on hand to measure the ounces they hold or I would let you know! I’m not sure what cups they gave you! If I am remembering correctly, the ones I used were probably about 4oz cups.
Abby Robinson
October 24, 2018Camille, the espresso cups are much smaller than the “tall” size cups that it sounds like they gave you.
Anamarie
November 30, 2018Did you bake these directly in the Starbucks cups or make regular cupcakes and set them inside the cups? If the former, do you just set the cups on a regular cookie sheet and do they make the same qty? I want to make these for my Starbucks obsessed daughter’s birthday. Thank you!
Elisabeth Judy
November 30, 2018You can bake directly in the cups!! I placed the cups in a muffin tin to help hold them in place as they baked.
Yes, the amount of batter used is very close to the amount used for a regular cupcake.
Sounds like a wonderful birthday plan. 😉 Have fun!!
Angie
January 11, 2019Do you dissolve the coffee or not?
Rachel Barkowski
January 15, 2019Hi Angie,
The coffee granules will dissolve during the 2 minutes you are beating the batter.
Good luck!
Amber
July 31, 2019The cups they sold me and said they were the smallest are 8 oz. these look so much smaller 😞 I’m going to call back today and hopefully figure it out!
Hannah Shuff
August 30, 2019How big of package of vanilla pudding mix? Does not say.
Elisabeth Judy
August 30, 2019Just a small package (4 serving box).
Hope you enjoy making them!!
Stephanie
July 4, 2020Hi! What piping tool did you use to make the effect of the whipped topping? Thanks so much! These look great!
Joelle
November 15, 2022Seems Duncan Hines no longer makes caramel cake mix either. do you have another recommendation on substitutions for this recipe?
Michelle H
June 8, 2023maybe use the vanilla pudding and use carmel macchiato creamer?