As soon as I see the word caramel (or butterscotch, or dulce de leche) in a recipe, I instantly want to make it. And I wanted these cupcakes to be so good, but they were just okay. The cupcake part is more like a muffin, not too sweet, with brown sugar and pecans. The frosting is a caramel buttercream and I thought the sweetness was overpowering. I’m now on a mission to figure out how to make a caramel buttercream that’s not too sweet.

• Brown Sugar-Pecan Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting (Bon Appetit, November 2009)