Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 12
 
The perfect fall/winter dessert, these caramel apple cupcakes are a real treat! From a whole bunch of shredded apples in the fluffy cupcakes to the cream cheese frosting to the sweet homemade caramel sauce, this is one dessert that's sure to please everyone!
You will need:
Apple Cupcakes
  • All purpose flour - 1¼ cups
  • Baking powder - 1 tsp
  • Salt - ½ tsp
  • Cinnamon powder - ¼ tsp
  • Butter - ¼ cup, softened at room temperature
  • Sugar - 1 cup
  • Vanilla extract - ½ tsp
  • Egg - 1, large
  • Milk - ¼ cup
  • Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
  • Red apples - 1 large, around 1½ cups when peeled and grated
Cream cheese frosting
  • Cream cheese - 4 oz, softened
  • Butter - ¼ cup, softened
  • Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
  • Salt - a pinch
  • Powdered sugar - 1½ - 2 cups
Caramel Sauce
  • Brown sugar - ½ cup
  • Cream - ¼ cup
  • Butter - 2 tbsp
  • Salt - a pinch
How to:
  1. Apple cupcakes: Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg.F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside.
  2. Sift the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  3. Take the milk and lemon juice in a measuring cup. Set aside. (Alternately, you can simply use 6 tbsp buttermilk).
  4. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes on high speed. Add vanilla extract and egg and beat for another minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl often.
  5. Now add half of the flour mixture and beat lightly on low, followed by the milk-lemon mixture, and finally the rest of the flour. Fold with a spatula till just combined. Do not overmix.
  6. Fold in the shredded/grated apple. I do it with a box grater held right over my mixing bowl.
  7. Divide batter among cupcake liners equally, each one around ¾ full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or till cupcakes pass the toothpick test.
  8. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.
  9. Cream cheese frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed till well combined, 2-3 minutes. Add vanilla extract and salt and beat for another minute. Reduce speed to low and add powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Increase the speed and beat well for 1-2 minutes till light and fluffy. Add more powdered sugar if it seems runny. Refrigerate it while cupcakes are cooling so that the frosting is firm enough to pipe.
  10. Caramel sauce: Take all ingredients in a small saucepan and start heating on medium heat.
  11. Once butter is melted and everything is well combined, heat for another 6-8 minutes on medium-low heat till sauce is slightly reduced and thickened.
  12. Remove from heat and pour into a glass jar. Cool completely, seal tight and store in the refrigerator. The sauce will thicken as it cools, and you can reheat it to make it liquid again.
  13. Serving: Frost cooled apple cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the frosting. Add sprinkles or other decorations if you wish.
Notes:
1. I used sweet red apples in my cupcakes and they go well with the cream cheese frosting. You can use Granny smith apples if you like their tartness.
2. I like to keep my cream cheese frosting just sweet enough. You can add up to 2½ cups of powdered sugar in this recipe, I used around 1¾ cups and was satisfied with how it tasted. The more sugar you add to the frosting, the firmer it will be, but refrigerating the frosting for some time should firm it up enough for piping onto the cupcakes.
3. I used edible pearl sprinkles on my cupcakes and they looked very pretty. You can decorate the cupcakes with even apple chips or any such decoration.
Recipe by At The Corner of Happy And Harried at https://www.happyandharried.com/2015/11/29/caramel-apple-cupcakes/