The other day I told you the Tagalong Surprise Cupcakes I posted from my old blog were very similar to what I’d be posting today. Umm, they are extremely similar.
Surprise!
Cookies inside of cupcakes. It’s sort of my thaaang.
When making these cupcakes, I may or may not have eaten a Samoa for the first time because I thought I “didn’t like coconut.” But I figured if I was going to make Samoa cupcakes, I should probably know what one tastes like.
I’m definitely a texture person. If something tastes great, but has a weird texture, I won’t eat it. So, it turns out that, while I think regular coconut has the texture of moist paper, toasted coconut? That stuff is good. I think I’ve always liked the flavor of coconut, but I definitely prefer the crunch.
These secretly-stuffed cakes have a caramel cake base with caramel frosting and are covered in toasty coconut, caramel drizzle, and chocolate ganache. If that isn’t a wonderfully tasty mouthful, then I don’t know what is.
I’ve talked about how delightfully soft Oreos become when you bake them inside of cupcakes, and surprisingly, Samaos have a similar transformation. When I tried it with Tagalongs, the shortbread part of the cookie didn’t really get as soft as I was hoping, but it did create a nice little crunch on the inside of the cupcake. The shortbread at the base of Samoas was somewhere in the middle. It wasn’t Oreo soft, but it was much softer than the Tagalongs. Plus there’s chocolate, caramel, and coconut surrounding it. All inside of a cupcake.
ingredients
- One box of Samoas (you'll need 12, so you get to eat 2.)
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup caramel sauce (I used store bought, you can use your favorite recipe)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup caramel sauce
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup toasted coconut
- caramel sauce for drizzling (I used store bought, you can use your favorite recipe)
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 3-4 tbsp heavy cream
instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- In one bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
- In another bowl, cream butter on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy. Add sugar and mix until combined.
- Add the egg to the butter/sugar mixture and mix well.
- Next add caramel sauce, milk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Repeat with the second half of the flour and and mix until completely combined.
- Working one cavity at a time, spoon cake batter into a paper liner, about 1/4 full.
- Place a Samoa on top, and cover with more cake batter until the cavity is 3/4 full. Repeat with the rest of the pan.
- Bake for 17 minutes and check to see if the centers have set. If they're still jiggly, bake for 1-2 more minutes. Or insert a toothpick into the center of the cupcake (you'll also have to get it through the hole in the cookie), or insert it diagonally from one edge of the cupcake into the center. If it comes out clean, they're done!
- Let the cupcakes completely cool on a wire rack before frosting.
- Cream butter on medium-high speed in the bowl of a stand mixer, or bowl + handheld mixer. Cream until fluffy and there are no lumps.
- Add caramel sauce and one cup of powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until just combined, then mix on medium speed until completely incorporated.
- Add the rest of the powdered sugar and repeat.
- If frosting is too thin, add 1/4 cup powdered sugar until desired thickness.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
- Using a double boiler, or a glass or metal bowl over a pot with 1-2 inches of simmering water, stir together chocolate chips and cream.
- Continue stirring until the chocolate chips are almost melted, remove the bowl from heat, and stir until completely melted and smooth.
- If the ganache is too thick to drizzle at this point, add another tablespoon or two of ganache and stir together quickly.
- Once cupcakes have cooled (working one cupcake at a time), frost cupcake, cover in toasted coconut, drizzle with caramel, and drizzle with chocolate ganache.
- Repeat with the rest of the cupcakes!
Recipe from bethcakes. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without permission. If you would like to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.
They are Samoas. They are not Caramel DeLites, whatever the heck that is. Samoas.
Somoas are my favorite GS cookie! The cookie surprise within the cupcake is fun, but I am really loving that caramel frosting + toasted coconut. I think I’d having a hard time sharing these cupcakes! 🙂
Thanks, Ashley! I think the frosting is my favorite party too!
Yes! I’ve never tried samoa cupcakes but they look amazing!! And these cupcakes and so cute – I also love surprise cupcakes. I feel like cupcakes were made just to have a filling in them.
Jessica, I feel the same way about cupcake fillings! So much more fun with a surprise inside. Thanks for pinning!
Oh and I am so pinning these!
Samoas are my favorite girls scout cookies!! I love these cupcakes.. Having a whole cookie inside is a great surprise that I can deal with 🙂 Love the caramel frosting!!! Pinned!
Thanks, Zainab! Samoas actually weren’t my favorite before, but I definitely have a new appreciation for them now. Thanks for pinning!
Oh my gawd! If I showed this to my bf (who claims he doesn’t like sweets) he’d drop to the floor saying “make these…” He loves samoa cookies and I love cupcakes (so does he) so the two together, it’s like an explosion! Soo pinning!
Ha, thanks Connie! I think these cupcakes would totally change is his mind about sweets!
I love these stuffed cupcakes! They are so much more fun than regular cupcakes Also I hate coconut – but just because of the texture thing! I’m definitely going to have to give toasted coconut a try. I know my husband would love it if I liked coconut because it’s one of his favorites! These photos are so great Beth. Love the coconut heart one 🙂
I’m glad I’m not alone on the coconut thing! Toasted coconut is so much better because it’s nice and crunchy. Thanks, Chelsea! 🙂
These are amazing and perfect! I’m going to have to buy an extra box of Samoas so that I can make these! 🙂
Thanks so much, Renee! 🙂
Oh, I seriously miss Samosas! The girl guide cookies here just don’t compare. These look so amazing and I love how high that stack of frosting goes. It looks like a giant samosa on top of a samosa cupcake!
I totally didn’t even think about them only being in the US! That is so sad 🙁 haha. Thanks, Katy!
I like your thang – cookies inside of cupcakes! I have never tried it, but I really should because these look amazing!! I love samoas! Pinning! Hope you have a great weekend
The house smells awesome while the coconut toasts in the oven. Then the finished cupcake is so over the top – excellent.
So YOU’RE one of those people! I hear rumors about folks who “don’t like coconut” and I always wonder who in their ever-lovin-mind doesn’t like it. Now I know! I get the texture thing, but I’m glad we can agree that the flavor is awesome! Even more awesome? These cupcakes! I LOVE how you stuffed them with cookies, and that caramel frosting looks amazing!
These look awesome!! Can I add them to my Samoa roundup?
Of course! Thanks so much, Julianne!
Ughhhh why don’t you live closer?! So then I could snag a few (cough cough all) of these cupcakes and eat them in minutes. Beth these are even better than the tagalong ones because samoas are my JAM. 😀
Haha, thanks Jess! The Tagalongs are my personal faves, so I would totally give you all the Samoas. 🙂
Awesome idea, Beth! I love Samoas and putting one in a cupcake is brilliant! Awesome post and great photos!
Thanks so much, Bill! 🙂
Stoooopppp…you were killing me with the Tagalong cupcakes, but these look so good too!! Totally making my mom hoard Girl Scout Cookies at home so I can make these when I get back from London 🙂 absolutely gorgeous! Pinned!
I totally agree – toasted coconut is sooooo good. And the smell – gah I love the way it smells when you toast it! These cupcakes look out of this world. I wish I had it for breakfast right now haha
These look amazing!! I am drooling over the pics!! 🙂
Well I’d definitely be inviting you to bring cupcakes to my party if you lived around here! Of course I love the ‘surprise’ aspect (brilliant idea!) but I also really like the sound of the caramel frosting. Mmmm!
oh wow, they look amazing!
When I was a GS Samoas were my absolute favorite (which is probably kinda weird for a kid). Now I probably go back and forth between these, thin mints, and tagalongs, but I still loveeee them and love the idea of putting them in a cupcake!
My apologies if I missed it somewhere but what temperature do these bake at? Thank you!
Sorry, Samantha! I updated the recipe–bake at 350!
Thanks! Making these tonight for a high school grad congrats party for one of our Venturers!
How many cupcakes does this make?