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–+ servings
An apple cupcake with frosting and caramel drizzled on top.
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Apple Cupcakes

Browned buttercream infused with Fall spices and lots of caramel top these apple spice cupcakes.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 18 cupcakes
Calories 300kcal
Author John Kanell

Ingredients

For the cupcake:

  • 1 cup apples 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 heaping 1g
  • 1 tsp baking powder heaping 4g
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt 1g
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil 177mL
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract 5mL
  • 3 eggs large
  • 1/4 cup sour cream 58g, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup whole milk 120mL, warm

For the Buttercream:

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2g
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger 500mg
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice 500mg
  • 1/4 teaspoon cardamon 500mg
  • 1 pound confectioner's sugar 153g
  • 3/4 cup butter browned 177mL
  • 1/3 cup cream 79mL

For the Caramel:

  • 1 cup brown sugar 200g
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 70g
  • 1/2 cup cream or half and half 118mL
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 5mL
  • pinch of 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!

Video

Notes

  • Browning butter for all your fall recipes is really a must in my book. It adds this nutty depth of flavor that is to die for! Make sure to brown the butter in advance as it takes a while to cool down.
  • Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don't have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
  • These cupcakes are great without the caramel, you can also try filling them with some homemade apple pie filling!
  • You can play with the spice profile of this recipe. I went all out with the fall spices but plain old cinnamon is pretty great on it's own.
  • If you don’t have sour cream use an equal amount of plain yogurt.

Nutrition

Serving: 70g | Calories: 300kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 190mg | Sugar: 27g | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 0.4mg