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5 from 8 votes

Salted Caramel Apple Cupcakes

A caramel apple cupcake filled with a chunks of cinnamon apples topped with a salted caramel buttercream frosting and drizzled with more salted caramel sauce
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: cupcakes
Servings: 12 -14 cupcakes
Calories: 358kcal

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. 

Nutrition

Calories: 358kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 108mg | Potassium: 138mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 360IU | Vitamin C: 1.4mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 1mg