Okay, okay... I know. Some of you all already have your Christmas trees up and the lights on the house, and the stockings hung by the chimney with care. But I am over here still in Thanksgiving/fall land, and I am not yet quite ready to give up the harvest flavors. I have weeks for all the peppermint, and gingerbread, and sugar plums. ;) While November is still here, I am still soaking in fall.
Last week I wanted to make some special cupcakes to celebrate a friend's belated birthday. I love salted caramel. I love caramel apples, so I thought why not make a cupcake combining the two? ;) Say hell0 to the creation of my Salted Caramel Apple Cupcake!
What you will need for the cupcakes:
1 stick of butter, room temperature
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup apple butter
2-3 small apples (or 1-2 larger apples), peeled, cored, and finely chopped
1/4 cup sour cream
For the Salted Caramel Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup of bottled caramel sauce
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Peel, core, and finely chop your apples and then set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the stick of butter and brown sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Then mix in the vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
Beat in half of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients in the large bowl.
Mix in the apple butter and sour cream, and then beat in the rest of the flour mixture.
Fold in the chopped apples.
Line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Fill each liner about 2/3 full with the apple cupcake batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To prepare the Salted Caramel Frosting, beat together the butter and cream cheese until well incorporated and somewhat fluffy. Beat in the caramel sauce, and then the salt. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time. Make sure you have your mixer set to medium-low speed so you don't throw powdered sugar all over your kitchen. ;) Beat until light and fluffy.
Once your cupcakes have cooled, pipe on your salted caramel frosting.
I garnished my cupcakes with a drizzle of caramel and a sprinkling of kosher salt.
This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.
Please tell me I am not the only one still clinging to fall a little? I mean, you have to hang on a little longer just for these cupcakes now, right? ;)
My Salted Caramel Frosting recipe was adapted from this one by the Brown Eyed Baker.
