Apple Spice Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting
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In addition to the pumpkin cupcakes for the “fallen in love” bridal shower, I made these delicious apple spice cupcakes with salted caramel frosting.
Pumpkin and apple are both wonderful flavors of fall. I wanted an apple cupcake that had pieces of apple in the cupcake. The cupcake I settled on has apple sauce in the batter. Additionally, shredded apple is folded into the batter.
Once I had the cupcake, I had to decide on a frosting. Caramel and apple go well together, so I decided to make a caramel frosting. Now this isn’t just any caramel frosting, it’s a salted caramel frosting. I used an ice cream topping to get that great salted caramel flavor in there. The same base that I used for the maple frosting on the pumpkin cupcakes is what I used for the frosting. I just swapped the maple out for the caramel.
Apple Spice Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting
Real Mom Kitchen
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp allspice
- â…› tsp ground nutmeg
- â…› tsp ground cloves
- 1 ¾ cups brown sugar
- â…“ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup apple peeled and grated
Frosting:
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- â…“ cup caramel ice cream topping I use Smucker's Salted Caramel topping
- â…› tsp salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- splash milk or heavy cream if frosting becomes too thick
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves together. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat brown sugar, vegetable oil, and applesauce together until well combined.
- Mix in eggs and vanilla. Add in 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
- Mix in buttermilk until just combined. Add remaining 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Fold in grated apple until just combined.
- Divide mixture evenly among two prepared muffin pans.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 18-25 minutes or until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Allow to cool in pan for about 5-10 minutes. Remove to wire cooling rack, and let come to room temperature before frosting.
- For frosting, place ingredients in a bowl and blend until smooth and well combined. Us to frost on top of the cooled cupcakes. Makes 24 cupcakes.
Cupcake recipe adapted from I Heart Eating.
