I’ve had Fall’s foods on the mind (as Michael said last night, “What’s with all the squash and sweet potatoes?”), so I decided to dream up the most Fall-ish cupcake. Recipe and more photos after the jump.
First, I thought about carrot cake. But I immediately decided to switch out the carrots for apples, based on what I had in the fridge. I have HUGE Honeycrisp apples stocked up. They’re so sweet and crunchy.
Then, to up the “Fall” ante, from just some apple cake, I decided to do a take on caramel apples….so I found a good homemade caramel recipe and filled the cupcakes with it. Heaven.Last, to top it off, what says “Fall” more than Maple Syrup? Why, nothing of course! So, I topped the cupcake with some Maple Cream Cheese Frosting. De-lish. Top that off with some Heath bar crumbles, and you’re good-to-go. [Note: my dad has since informed me that maple syrup is made in the Spring. No idea why I thought it was made in the Fall. Thanks, Dad!]
Caramel Apple Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Cinnamon Apple Cake, adapted from Sophistimom
yield: about 15 cupcakes
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
3/4 cups (300g) brown sugar
1/4 cup (175mL) pure maple syrup
1 sticks (224g) unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
3 Honeycrisp apples, peeled and grated (I used the food processor)
- Line 15 muffin tins with paper liners and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, maple syrup, melted butter, and eggs. Stir in grated apple, and then fold in the flour mixture. Using an ice cream scoop, divide the batter evenly among the muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the center cupcake bounces back when touched. Let cool completely.
- When they have cooled, use a melon baller to scoop out a small amount of cake from the top of each cupcake. Fill with a teaspoon of caramel, and top with frosting.
Caramel Sauce, adapted from the kitchn
yield: about 3 cups (just bottle up the rest and eat it for breakfast!)
2 cups cream
1 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
Pinch salt
1/4 cup butter- Warm the cream and vanilla in a small saucepan over low to medium heat. While it’s warming, add the sugar and water to a large, heavy, high-sided pan over high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then leave it alone to boil until it reaches a deep amber color.Remove from heat and whisk in the butter. Then, add the cream/vanilla mixture. Be very careful and add the cream slowly – the caramel is going to bubble up violently! Add the pinch of salt and whisk smooth. Simmer until slightly reduced.
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting, from Smitten Kitchen
One (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/8 cup pure maple syrup (I ran out of maple syrup, so used some honey to get me up to the 1/8 cup)
Cream together cream cheese and butter, add maple syrup, then sugar.
looks just like October! can't wait to hear about vacay!
Oh my word, these look amazing.
These look super yummy, but I can't help but thin the crumbles on top look like bacon bits?
Just went to our farmer's market and picked up some Honey Crisps..can't wait to make these cupcakes..they look fantastic!!
Oh my gosh, soooo good. I made mini cupcake versions of these to bring to a birthday party, and they were a HUGE hit! I was 1/3 lazy and used bottled caramel sauce, but made the rest from scratch and they turned out great!
Glad you liked them, Tera Marie! I'm with you though, bottled caramel sauce is an easy way to whip these up more quickly.