So I've been craving sweet and salty recently so yesterday I decided to indulge myself and create a new dessert based on those two ideas.  I came up with something pretty darn yummy if I do say so!  It was perfect timing cause my friend Autumn emailed me to bring a dessert to a feng shui night.  FYI we have feng shui nights sometimes when we need to get inspired!  We bring in "the feng shui guy" Ariel Joseph Towne to lead us in our journey to making our living spaces more successful!  He is great!!  You can learn more about him and feng shui at www.thefengshuiguy.com  He will soon also have his own TV show on Syfy network!
Ok, on with the cupcakes!  I'm calling them the "yin and yang cupcakes" !  They are soooo good and easy!  You can even cheat on this one and make the cupcakes with a box mix if you are short on time.  (It's the frosting that really makes these!)  So here you go!
 

Yin and Yang Cupcakes (or Salty Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes) 

Prepare 1 box of cake mix into mini-cupcakes or here is my homemade recipe: 

 What you'll need: 

 2 cups flour 

 3/4 cup cocoa powder (hersheys is good and easy to find in your baking aisle) 

 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 

 2 tsp. baking soda 

 1 tsp. kosher salt

 1 cup milk (try not to make it non-fat, it won't be as rich as if you use whole or part skim) 

 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract (imitation vanilla is just not as good) 

 2 cups sugar 

 1/2 cup vegetable oil 

 2 eggs, room temp 

 1 cup hot black coffee (yes, you can use flavored coffees if you like) 

 6 oz. or a half a bag of chocolate chips 

 What you'll do: 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line your cupcake tin with liners.  In a large bowl sift the flour and cocoa.  Add the baking soda, baking powder and salt.  In another bowl mix the milk, vanilla, sugar, oil, and eggs with a hand mixer or in a kitchen aid.  When it's all combined, add the coffee and mix well.  Right after add the dry ingredients bowl and mix thoroughly.  The batter will be on the thinner side.  Stir in the chocolate chips and fill the cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full.  Bake for 9 minutes or until you can press on them and your finger bounces back.  DO NOT OVER BAKE!!!!  They will lose their moistness very quickly if you over bake them!
Frosting:
1 stick butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream (if all you can find is whipping cream, that's fine too)
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 (16 oz.) box of powdered sugar
In a small pot on medium heat melt the butter and add the brown sugar.
 

Stir frequently until it is smooth and not grainy.  Remove from the heat and pour into a large mixing bowl.  Add the vanilla and stir.  Beat with an electric mixer; gradually add in the powdered sugar.  Frosting should be thick, but if it's too thick you can add a little more heavy cream.
 

 Assembly!
Pour the frosting into a large ziploc bag, snip the tip and frost the cupcakes.
 

Sprinkle with some kosher salt and enjoy!!!
Here are the girls with Ariel enjoying the cupcakes!