Caramel Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream Frosting

Deliciously moist apple spice cupcakes topped with sweet caramel buttercream. This easy cupcakes recipe makes the perfect fall dessert!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword apple caramel cupcakes, apple recipes, easy cupcake recipes

Prep Time 42

Cook Time 33

Total Time 1 15

Servings cupcakes

Calories 393kcal

Author Chrissie

Equipment

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup milk
2 apples cut into small chunks

For the Caramel Buttercream:

1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup thick caramel sauce or dulce de leche divided
4 cups icing sugar
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 pinch sea salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Cupcakes:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare muffin or cupcake tins with paper liners for 18 cupcakes.
Add the butter and brown sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix them together on medium-high speed until the mixture is creamy and smooth (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs and vanilla and mix on medium speed until everything is combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated evenly.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger and whisk these ingredients together with a wire whisk. Add half the flour mixture to the butter/egg mixture and mix on low speed just until combined.
Add 1/2 cup of milk and mix on low speed just until combined. Repeat this process with the remaining flour mixture and then the remaining milk. Be very careful not to over-mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl regularly.
Chop the apples into small chunks and add them to the cupcake batter. I don't bother peeling the apples because, it creates a really nice appearance to these cupcakes.
Gently stir the apple chunks into the batter just until they're distributed evenly throughout and spoon the batter into the 18 muffin cups you've prepared with paper liners.
Bake the cupcakes for 25-28 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. They'll puff up nicely in the oven and they'll be a nice golden brown colour when they're done (use the toothpick test, just to be sure!).
Remove the cupcakes from the muffin tin and set them on a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the Frosting:

While the cupcakes are cooling, you can begin to prepare the frosting by adding 1 cup of unsalted butter to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Whip the butter on high speed for about 2-3 minutes or until you notice it is very creamy and smooth and it turns pale. Add 1/2 cup of the caramel to the butter and mix these together on medium-high speed until the mixture is smooth.
Once the caramel and the butter have been combined add the icing sugar 1 cup at a time, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Once all the icing sugar has been added and the mixture is smooth, add the pinch of salt and add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time and whip the frosting on high speed until it becomes fluffy and light.
Add the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe the frosting on to the cupcakes in a circular motion (only once they've cooled to room temperature!).
Drizzle the leftover 1/4 cup of caramel sauce onto the top of the frosting for decoration.

Notes

Storage Instructions

Store these cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to serve.

Nutrition