Spiced Apple Cupcakes
These Spiced Apple Cupcakes are the perfect marriage of apple pie and delicious cupcakes. Moist, tender cupcakes filled with mashed homemade apple pie filling are topped with a rich, creamy caramel buttercream frosting for the most decadent fall flavor you’ve ever tasted.
If you only think of pumpkins when you think of fall treats, then you’re missing out on one of the best fall flavors out there – apples! Every fall, we go into an apple recipe frenzy, and these spiced apple cupcakes are always on our list.
Table of contents
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Basic Ingredients: These cupcakes are full of flavor but use simple ingredients to achieve it.
- Easy to Make: These cupcakes are so much easier to make than you might think!
- Big Apple Flavor: The mashed apple filling gives the cupcakes a huge shot of sweet, spiced apple flavor.
- Perfect for Fall: The spiced apple filling and caramel buttercream gives these cupcakes the perfect fall flavor.
🛒Ingredients
This recipe uses basic ingredients that you can find in your kitchen or at your local grocery store. We’ve listed them all here, but you can find their exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
For the Cupcakes
- Butter – softened
- Medium apples
- Sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Flour
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground cloves
- Baking soda
- Salt
For the Frosting
- Butter – softened
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla
- Jarred caramel sauce
- Heavy cream
🔪 How to Make Spiced Apple Cupcakes
Step 1: Prep
Peel and dice the apples into 1-inch cubes and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Step 2: Make the Apple Mixture
Add the apples and 1 tablespoon of butter to a medium saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes until the apples are very soft. Then, mash the apples until there are no chunks.
Step 3: Mix the Wet Batter Ingredients
Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy. Then, add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
Step 4: Mix the Dry Batter Ingredients
Whisk the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
Step 5: Make the Batter
Mix about a third of the flour into the wet ingredients. Then, add about half the mashed apples to the mixture and mix again. Alternate mixing the remaining flour and apple mixture into the mixture until combined.
Step 6: Bake
Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Then, bake the cupcakes for 18 to 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 7: Cool
Carefully transfer the baked cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 8: Make the Frosting
Beat the butter in a large bowl until its color lightens. Then, add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla and caramel sauce and beat again. Mix in a tablespoon of heavy cream at a time until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.
Step 9: Frost
Use a piping bag with your choice of tip to pipe frosting onto the tops of the cooled cupcakes, and enjoy!
📝Variations
Do you want to change up this recipe and make it your own? Here are some ways that you can do that!
- Apples: Use your favorite variety of apples for this recipe. Any will work!
- Gluten-Free: You can use 1:1 gluten-free flour if you have gluten sensitivity or Celiac disease.
- Dairy-Free: Use dairy-free butter and cream to make a dairy-free version.
- Buttercream Frosting: You can use cream cheese or even store-bought frosting for these cupcakes, as well.
If you think these cupcakes sound good, then you’ll love our apple dapple cake.
🥄 Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Medium saucepan
- Muffin tin
- Cupcake liners
- Wire cooling rack
- Electric mixer
- Piping bag with your choice of tip
🥫 Storage
Store these cupcakes in an air-tight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. YOu can also refrigerate them for up to 5 days. For longer storage, wrap the chilled cupcakes in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to 2 months in an air-tight, freezer-safe container.
Defrost the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter before serving.
What to Serve with Spiced Apple Cupcakes
Serve these cupcakes with a glass of milk for the kids or a cup of coffee or tea for the grownups. They also make a great dessert after a classic fall meal, like a pot roast, or as part of a larger dessert spread at parties or holiday gatherings.
💭 Tips
- Mix your cupcake batter until the ingredients are just combined. Overmixing leads to tough, dense cupcakes.
- Let your batter rest for a few minutes before baking. This allows any gluten to relax and promotes tender cupcakes.
- A hand mixer is the easiest way to mix both the batter and the frosting.
- Be sure your cupcakes have fully cooled before frosting. Otherwise, the frosting will begin to liquefy and slide off of the cupcakes.
⁉️ FAQ
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
A potato masher or a hand mixer makes mashing cooked apples quick and easy.
Any apples will work for pie filling. It all comes down to personal preference. Apples like Granny Smith will give your filling a more tart flavor, while apples like Honey Crisp will give the filling more sweetness.
It really depends on the type of cupcakes. Plain cupcakes will last for up to a week at room temperature. Cupcakes with buttercream frosting and/or a sweet filling can last up to 3 days at room temperature. Cupcakes frosted with cream cheese frosting, however, must be refrigerated at all times.
🍽 More Recipes
Do you enjoy cupcakes? Then try these delicious recipes:
🧾Recipe Card
Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe so you can find it later.
Spiced Apple Cupcakes
Equipment
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- mixing bowls
- medium saucepan
- Muffin tin
- cupcake liners
- Wire cooling rack
- Electric mixer
- Piping bag with your choice of tip
Ingredients
- ¾ cup + 1 Tbsp butter softened
- 4 medium sized apples
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ¾ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Frosting:
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup jarred caramel sauce
- 1-2 Tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Peel and dice the apples into about 1” cubes and place them in a medium sized saucepan with 1 tablespoon of butter. Cook over medium/low heat for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the apples are soft enough to mash. Remove from heat and mash the apples until there are no chunks. Let cool.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy.
- Add in the egg and vanilla and continue to beat.
- In a small bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda and salt.
- Add about a third of the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and combine.
- Add about ½ of the mashed apples to the batter and combine.
- Alternate flour and apples until everything is combined.
- Scoop into a cupcake tin that’s been lined, filling each cup about ¾ full.
- Place in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out cleanly.
- Remove and let cool completely.
- To make the frosting, place the butter in a large bowl and beat for 1 minute until the butter lightens in color.
- Add in the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add in the vanilla and caramel sauce and beat.
- Add in a tablespoon of heavy cream at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
- Place in a piping bag with a frosting tip of choice and pipe onto the tops of the cooled cupcakes. (Tip #1B shown)
