Caramel Apple Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream
Crisp apples and rich caramel sauce are baked into a moist and tender cake. Topped with a creamy, buttery cinnamon buttercream frosting and you have the most amazing dessert for fall.
Fall in your mouth….that’s how a friend described these cupcakes. I can’t say I don’t agree with her. I mean…come on. Caramel apples and cinnamon in a cupcake. It doesn’t get much more fall than that….unless you pair one with a Pumpkin Spice Latte. That could turn any bad day into the BEST DAY EVER! Or pretty darn close. What would be even better is if the weather got just a little crisper than 88 degrees and you could wear boots and a bulky sweater while stuffing your face with one of these puppies.
I love cupcakes because they are a feeble attempt at portion control. But if the cupcake is just mind-blowing and not at all rich….like these…you will probably want to eat 6. I may have stopped at 6. I may not have stopped at 6. All I know is….I had no self-control and had to send them to work with Katie. Again.
But I will be making these again…soon. See, they’re super easy and I used Smucker’s Salted Caramel Sauce to make things even easier. When you have a hankering for something with caramel…sometimes you don’t feel like dealing with creating a sauce that’s as hot as the surface of the sun. And I ALWAYS forget it’s smoldering and taste it thus creating third degree burns on my tongue that eliminate any ability to taste for about 3 weeks. It never fails. So to save the drama and the pain….commercial sauce can be a good thing. And what I LOVE about Smucker’s Salted Caramel is I recognize EVERY SINGLE INGREDIENT on the label. So….it’s as good as homemade. My tongue loves that.
Don’t get your undies in a bunch if your cupcakes don’t rise with the beautiful dome we all look to achieve. These are more flattish on top which is the best surface to heap the Cinnamon Buttercream. And this buttercream is king…..I would put this on everything. You will see this make an appearance again very, very soon. But in the meantime….put on some shorts and flip-flops and whip up these Caramel Apple Cupcakes. Maybe mother nature will smell them and flip the switch on the summer weather we’ve been having.
Get the Recipe: Caramel Apple Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream
Ingredients
- For the cupcakes:
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup low fat milk
- 1 1/2 cup cake flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup caramel sauce, divided, I used Smucker's Salted Caramel Sauce
- 2 cup diced apples, I used Honey Crisp
- For the buttercream:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 1/2 tablespoons half and half
- 1/4 cup salted peanuts, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the milk and stir to combine. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix to combine but don't over beat. Add the vanilla, 1/4 cup of the caramel sauce and apples and mix well.
- Pour the batter into a muffin tin lined with cupcake wrappers filling each 3/4 full. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool on a baking rack.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the remaining 2 sticks of butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and half and half until light and fluffy. Transfer to an airtight container and allow to stand for 1-2 hours before piping on the cupcakes.
- Top the cupcakes with the buttercream using a knife to spread or filling a pastry bag and piping on each cake. Drizzle each cupcake with the remaining caramel sauce and sprinkle with peanuts.
- Serve immediately.
- Note: The cupcakes can be made up to one day in advance and stored in an airtight container. The buttercream can be made 48 hours in advance and stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
13 Comments on “Caramel Apple Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream”
Hi Kellie,I’ve featured these cupcakes on my blog, hoping that you don’t mind, but if you do, please contact me and I’ll remove it. All the best.
Love all the flavors going on here!! Bliss!!
I am totally craving one of these cupcakes right now.. loving that thick layer of cinnamon buttercream especially. Great recipe!
LOVE!!! I’d stop at 6, then an hour later I’d eat another 6, then an hour later I’d eat another 6. THEN I’d give them away. Or actually I’d ask my husband to give them away, because at that point someone will have to roll me everywhere. I am swooning over these cupcakes.
That buttercream looks incredible! I dont’ like how sticky caramel apples are; these looks like the perfect alternative.
They look delicious! I love the flavor of apples and caramel!
I just love caramel apples!! These would indeed be perfect with a pumpkin spice latte
Ummmm, these look downright irresistible! That frosting!!!
I bought a jar of the Smuckers Salted Caramel Sauce a few weeks ago and, oh my gosh, I want to put it on everything in the kitchen! It’s so darned good!!
“I love cupcakes because they are a feeble attempt at portion control.” Haha! So true. And muffins are really just cupcakes without the frosting. Love these – so pretty!!
Oh. My. Yum. I don’t think I’d stop at 6!
It just so happens to be fairly chilly around here in the mornings and evenings right now, so I will make a batch of these beauties, then don my sweater and boots and munch away!
Swooning! I use cupcakes as a portion control tactic too! It might not work in this case. 🙂