Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes

My cake decorating instructor likes to sew, and she sewed really cute aprons for all of us in the class!  That was so nice, so I made some cupcakes to bring in and share with her and my classmates.  I went with chocolate cupcakes and caramel Swiss meringue buttercream, and a drizzle of caramel over it all, with a pinch of sea salt on top.  Then, I made some dark chocolate swirly butterflies and perched them on top!  They came out so beautiful and tasted even better.  The instructor went home with two of them and shared them with her husband.  She called me the next day to tell me how much he loved them!

Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

4 large egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
pinch salt
4 sticks (16 ounces) unsalted butter, soft, cut into 16 pieces

1/2 cup dulce de leche

Place egg whites, vanilla, sugar, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer and gently whisk over simmering water until sugar dissolves and mixture is 150 degrees, about 3-5 minutes. Place bowl on mixer and whip on high speed 7 minutes. Scrape down bowl. On medium speed, add butter 1 piece at a time, counting 10 seconds between additions. Mixture may look curdled. Increase speed to high and whip until it smooths out. Add dulce de leche and beat until fully incorporated.