Apple Cupcakes
User Reviews
4.9
Apple Cupcakes
Description
Apple Cupcakes are made by blending sifted dry ingredients—flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and warm spices—with wet ingredients including vegetable oil, vanilla, eggs, warm milk, and sour cream. Finely diced peeled apples are folded into the batter, infusing moisture and subtle texture.
Baked at 350°F until golden and springy, the cupcakes develop a tender crumb with embedded apple pieces. The accompanying buttercream is prepared by browning butter to bring out nutty flavors, then creaming it with confectioners’ sugar, cream, vanilla, and warm spices to complement the cupcakes’ fall notes.
Optionally, a caramel sauce made from brown sugar, butter, cream, vanilla, and salt can be drizzled or used as a filling, intensifying sweetness and richness. The combination of spices and caramel enhances the autumnal taste, making these cupcakes suitable for seasonal dessert or snacking occasions.
Variations include using plain cinnamon only or filling with homemade apple pie filling. The recipe allows for substitution of plain yogurt for sour cream and recommends careful flour measurement to avoid dryness.
Ingredients
For the cupcake:
- 1 cup apple peeled, cut, and diced finely
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon 5g
- 1/2 tsp ginger 1g
- pinch nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp allspice 1g
- pinch cloves ground
- 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 200g
- 1 cups granulated sugar 200g
- 1/4 tsp baking soda 1g, heaping amount
- 1 tsp baking powder 4g, heaping amount
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt 1g
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil 177mL
- 1 tsp vanilla extract 5mL
- 3 egg large
- 1/4 cup sour cream 58g, room temperature
- 1/2 cup milk 120mL, warm, whole
For the Buttercream:
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2g
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger 500mg
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice 500mg
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom 500mg
- 1 pound confectioners sugar 153g
- 3/4 cup butter 177mL, browned
- 1/3 cup cream 79mL
For the Caramel:
- 1 cup brown sugar 200g
- 5 tablespoons butter 70g, unsalted
- 1/2 cup cream 118mL, or half and half
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 5mL
- pinch salt
Instructions
For the Buttercream:
- Heat the butter over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until it is browned to a caramel color. Allow butter to cool to room temperature.
- Beat the room temperature butter for a few minutes on low. I prefer doing this using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment but a hand mixer works too. Add in spices and cream.
- Add confections sugar and vanilla. Beat and cream a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake papers in a cupcake pan.
- In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together and whisk until incorporated. This includes the sugar.
- In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix until combined. Fold in the minced apples.
- Distribute the batter evenly into cupcake papers.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and springy to the touch.
- Divide the batter evenly into cupcake papers.
- Bake for 18- 21 minutes. Let cool.
For the Caramel:
- Combine ingredients in small pot.
- Heat over medium-low heat while whisking
- Cook for 7-8 minutes.
For the Assembly
- Core the cupcakes and drizzle in caramel. Replace the cap and pipe a dollop of buttercream on with a large open star tip. Drizzle with some more caramel and serve!
Notes
- Browning the butter before making the buttercream adds a nutty depth; allow it to cool before use.
- Measure flour accurately with a scale, or fluff and level when using measuring cups to prevent dryness.
- These cupcakes can be made without caramel and still offer great flavor, or filled with apple pie filling for variation.
- Sour cream can be substituted with an equal amount of plain yogurt if unavailable.
- Adjust spice blend as desired; cinnamon alone also works well.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 18cupcakes
Amount Per Serving
Calories 300 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 70g | |
| Calories | 300kcal | 15% |
| Carbohydrates | 35g | 12% |
| Protein | 2g | 4% |
| Fat | 16g | 25% |
| Saturated Fat | 5g | 25% |
| Cholesterol | 25mg | 8% |
| Sodium | 190mg | 8% |
| Sugar | 27g | 54% |
| Calcium | 40mg | 4% |
| Iron | 0.4mg | 2% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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