These caramel apple cupcakes are TO DIE FOR. It’s an easy spiced cupcake with fresh apples stirred into the batther. And then topped with a salted caramel buttercream frosting. And more salted caramel drizzled over to send them completely over the edge.
I don’t know about you but no treat goes faster then a plate of cupcakes. And seriously who can blame them if these cupcakes are staring at them?
They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Not sure it counts when they are stuffed into a cupcake and topped with a homemade salted caramel frosting, but worth a shot right?
So let’s get back to these caramel apple cupcakes. Mmm, these cupcakes.
Ingredients to make these caramel apple cupcakes
- all purpose flour – Nothing fancy here. Good old all purpose flour is what I use. I always have it on hand so I love that I can whip up these cupcakes whenever I want.
- baking powder – this of course will help your cupcakes rise. Be sure that your baking powder is fresh and not expired. You can test the baking powder in a bit of hot water to see if it bubbles before you begin your recipe. Read Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda to learn more!
- salt – I used table salt for these cupcakes. A little bit of salt always helps to balance out the sweetness.
- cinnamon – Of course with apples I need my warm spices. And cinnamon never disappoints!
- nutmeg – I love a little nutmeg for extra spice in these cupcakes. But a little goes a little way.
- unsalted butter – These cupcakes use melted butter so they come together quickly. I recommend unsalted so you can control the amount of salt.
- granulated white sugar– Just good old sugar to help sweeten these!
- eggs (you will use 2 large eggs, and one additional egg white) – Make sure your eggs are large, and at room temperature before starting. Place them in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before starting the recipe to make the eggs come to room temperature quickly.
- milk – I used whole milk for the best richness and flavor and texture. But you could substitute other types of milk if you need to (low fat, almond, soy)
- vanilla extract – I reduced the amount of vanilla extract in this recipe so it didn’t overpower the flavors going on.
- 2 apples (I used one Gala, and one Granny Smith) – The key to these cupcakes is shredding the apples in this cupcake so the apples don’t overwhelm the batter. You can use different varieties of apples if you have them. Give What Are The Best Apples For Baking? a read for more suggestions on which apples to use.
How to make these caramel apple cupcakes
These cupcakes start off with an easy spiced cupcake. I used my Easy Vanilla Cupcake Recipe and then stirred in cinnamon, nutmeg, and fresh apples turning them into a delicious apple cupcake.
Step One: Start by combining your dry ingredients
In a mixing bowl you want to whisk together your dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Step Two: Combine Your Wet Ingredients
In a second mixing bowl, whisk together the butter, sugar, eggs and egg white. Stir in the milk and vanilla.
Step Three: Combine Wet And Dry Ingredients
Now pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
Step Four: Add the shredded apples
Now you want to fold in the shredded apples.
Pro Tip: Be sure to not over mix. Just fold in gently and stop stirring once the apples have been evenly mixed in.
Step Five: Scoop and Bake
Now you want to scoop the batter into the pans. Be sure to fill these 3/4 of the way full (basically almost right to the top). Because these are made with melted butter and not creamed, filling these a bit more than I normally would for cupcakes is perfectly OK. You should get 12-14 cupcakes. I like to use a large scoop to get even sized cupcakes.
How to make the caramel buttercream frosting
Now onto the caramel frosting. This frosting is my go to frosting recipe. It is seriously hands down the best buttercream recipe I have ever made and tasted.
Start by creaming your butter in your stand mixer. This frosting is much easier if made in your stand mixer, but can be done with a hand mixer but will take longer to cream. Then add in your powdered sugar and cream together.
Add in the heavy cream, vanilla and caramel. You can use storebought caramel sauce, caramel sauce made from caramel candies or homemade salted caramel sauce.
The key to this frosting is to mix for 8 minutes on medium speed. It makes it very light and fluffy.
For piping the perfect cupcake, read this post.
Recipe Tips
- Be sure to measure your flour correctly by scooping and leveling. You can get a full tutorial on how to do that here.
- Use room temperature eggs so they are evenly incorporated and create an emulsion that will effectively trap air to help your cupcakes rise.
- Do not overmix once your dry ingredients have been incorporated. Too much mixing will activate too much gluten in the flour resulting in a tough cupcake. I finish stirring with a spatula so as to ensure not to overmix.
- Make sure to not overfill the cupcakes. Overfilled cupcakes will sink in the middle after they have been removed from the oven. Read this post for more reasons why your cupcakes sink in the middle.
- Have extra caramel sauce? Use it to drizzle on the cupcakes for a tasty garnish!
Recipe FAQ’s
Absolutely you can! These cupcakes can be made ahead 1 day in advance, covered, and stored at room temperature.
The frosting can also be made 1 day in advance, covered, and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use.
If you have leftover cupcakes they also keep well covered tightly in the refrigerator for 3 days. You can also freeze these cupcakes, without filling, for up to 2-3 months. Then just thaw in the fridge overnight and then fill and frost as normal. Click here for a full tutorial on how to freeze cupcakes!
I do recommend using whole milk for the best taste and texture, but you can use low fat milk if that’s all you have. It may just slightly affect the overall texture.
I used one Gala and one Granny Smith. But two Granny Smith would be great. Or two Gala apples. I also love using Honey crisp as well.
Here is a great post to read –> What Are The Best Apples For Baking?
More Recipes to Try
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ipe Card
Salted Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup (198 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 apples (about 2 cups) shredded
For the Salted Caramel Buttercream
- 2 1/2 sticks butter softened to room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
For the cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a cupcake pan with liners. .
- In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients- flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Whisk to combine.
- In a second mixing bowl, whisk together butter and sugar. Add the eggs and egg whites until combined. Stir in milk and vanilla.
- Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir to combine.
- Fold in the shredded apples.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups filling each about 3/4 full. Bake until lightly golden on top and toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean about 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack and let cool completely for about an hour before topping with buttercream.
For the Caramel Buttercream
- In a stand mixer, or medium bowl with a hand mixer cream butter and powdered sugar together.
- Add in vanilla, heavy cream, salted caramel. Cream on medium to medium-high speed for 8 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Store in an airtight container until ready to use. If you store in the refrigerator, you will need to whip again to bring back until the right consistency.
To assemble cupcakes
- Using a pastry bag and pastry tip pipe a swirl of buttercream frosting on top. I used the large closed star Atecco tip.
- Drizzle salted caramel sauce over each cupcake. Cupcakes can be stored at room temperature for 1 to 2 days. If you store in the refrigerator, bring cupcakes to room temperature before serving.
Notes
- Be sure to measure your flour correctly by scooping and leveling. You can get a full tutorial on how to do that here.
- Use room temperature eggs so they are evenly incorporated and create an emulsion that will effectively trap air to help your cupcakes rise.
- Do not overmix once your dry ingredients have been incorporated. Too much mixing will activate too much gluten in the flour resulting in a tough cupcake. I finish stirring with a spatula so as to ensure not to overmix.
- Make sure to not overfill the cupcakes. Overfilled cupcakes will sink in the middle after they have been removed from the oven. Read this post for more reasons why your cupcakes sink in the middle.
Brittany says
I absolutely need some caramel buttercream in my life. And that’s really cool that you can freeze the cupcakes, but I don’t see how you’d actually have any leftovers 🙂
Heather says
Thanks Brittany! And yes freezing is always a good option 🙂 but you’re right we rarely have leftovers 😉