Description
Bring the fair to your kitchen with these caramel apple cupcakes. Take a bite out of a soft, fluffy apple cupcake donned with thick caramel frosting and decorated with your favorite candies, just like the caramel apples you know and love!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 large apple, finely chopped*
- Shredded coconut, mini chocolate chips, toffee bits, chocolate drizzle, chopped nuts, etc for decorating (optional)
Caramel Frosting
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/4 cup milk + 2 tbsp*
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with an electric mixer, beat the butter on high for about 1 minute. Add both the sugars and continue to beat on high until soft and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat for another minute or so. Add half of the dry ingredients, and mix slowly to just combine. Add the buttermilk, and slowly mix. Add the remaining dry ingredients and beat until just combined. The batter will be fairly thick. Add in the diced apple, and mix slowly on low until incorporated, or use a large wooden spoon to stir it in.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 cupcake liners, and bake for approximately 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare the frosting. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add together the brown sugar, butter and milk. Stir to combine until butter is completely melted and brown sugar is dissolved. Leave the mixture to bubble over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, until it turns a deep amber colour. Remove the mixture from heat, and transfer to a mixing bowl to cool.
- Once the mixture is cool, use the paddle attachment on your mixer or an electric mixer and add in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Beat on high. I needed to add a bit of extra milk as well, to achieve the right consistency (see notes). Continue to mix on high until your frosting is stiff enough to ice with.
- Frost the cupcakes and decorate with coconut, mini chocolate chips, toffee bits, and chocolate drizzle. Add a lollipop stick in the center for that real caramel apple effect!
Notes
- I like to use Granny Smith, but any apple will do. 1 large apple is about 1 1/2 cups chopped.
- The original recipe calls for 1/4 cup milk, but I found the icing too stiff once I added in the powdered sugar. I added approximately 2 tbsp extra milk when mixing the caramel with the powdered sugar; feel free to add as much milk as required, 1 tbsp at a time until you achieve the right consistency
Caramel frosting recipe adapted from Two Sisters Crafting
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: cupcakes
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: american
