Spiced Apple Cupcakes With Salted Caramel Buttercream

Submitted by MarthaStewartWanabe

"These cupcakes contain all the flavors of a caramel-dipped apple with the loving touch of apple pie spices and salted caramel. These cupcakes are moist with tender pieces of apple nestled inside, then topped with a velvety salted caramel buttercream frosting. Decadent, delightful and definitely worth sharing the calories with your friends and family!"

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 19mins
• Ingredients: 20
• Yields: 30 Cupcakes

ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
• 1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ginger, ground
• 1⁄8 teaspoon clove, ground
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 3⁄4 cup vegetable oil
• 3⁄4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups apples, peeled, finely chopped (McIntosh, Granny Smith, Cortland, Northern Spy or any other tart, firm apple)
• 1 cup butter, salted
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2⁄3 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 3 1⁄2 - 4 cups powdered sugar

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin pans with cupcake liners.
2. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs. Then whisk in oil, milk and vanilla.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and beat at medium speed until combined.
5. Fold in chopped apples.
6. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.
7. Bake for 18-19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or cakes bounce back when pressed lightly.
8. Allow cupcakes to cool completely.
9. Meanwhile, prepare your caramel buttercream.
10. In saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. With a wooden spoon, stir in brown sugar and continue to stir until dissolved. Then stir in heavy cream, vanilla and salt. Once mixture reaches a slow, rolling boil, cook for 5-7 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken to a syrupy consistency. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Once cooled to a manageable temperature, transfer to a mixing bowl.
11. With an electric mixer, gradually beat in confectioner’s sugar until mixture is smooth and velvety. If necessary, use a little more or less to reach the desired consistency.
12. Frost cupcakes using your desired method. I prefer to pipe it in a thick swirl, using a wide round tip or spreading with a flat spatula.

Reviews

[Audrey G.]

Oh. My. Goodness. These cupcakes were spectacular. I omitted nutmeg for health reasons, but just one bite made it feel like Halloween in my house. And the icing- well, my picky eater children completely flipped for it, it is amazing. Wish I could give more than 5 stars, lol.