They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, so surely that applies to apple pie cupcakes, right?
We LOVE apple pie and if you do too then you will love these cupcakes. It's a classic dessert and now a can't-resist cupcake! The apple pie filling is gorgeous and cuts perfectly through the sweet cinnamon buttercream. It's a sweet but slightly tart filling with chunks of apple that give the cupcakes an added texture. And it's a perfect pairing with the spiced cupcake. The star decorations are made from a sweet pastry and are a delicious extra for the cupcake, along with the drizzle of caramel sauce.
Looking at the ingredients list you'll see this looks like a lot of components - it kind of is BUT each step is quick and easy, and of course the added extras are optional. Or you could always buy a caramel sauce or apple filling.
On with the show...
Ingredients:
(makes 12)
For the cupcakes...
4oz butter
4oz caster sugar
2 large eggs
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1st vanilla extract
4oz self-raising flour
For the buttercream...
5oz unsalted butter
10oz icing sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
For the apple filling...
3 apples (braeburn work well for this)
150g light brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp cornflour
1tbsp water
For the pastry stars...
4oz plain flour
2oz butter
1 1/2 oz sugar
1 egg - halved (half in the pastry and half for the egg wash)
1tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon mixed
For the caramel drizzle...
100g light brown sugar
2tbsp unsalted butter
120ml double cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Next it's time for the caramel sauce. Simply place all of the ingredients in a pan and stir to combine. Simmer over a medium heat for around 10 minutes, until your sauce reaches the desired thickness. It will thicken as it cools, so if you still feel like your sauce is really thin, just pop it in the fridge to cool for a while.
To make the apple pie filling, start by chopping the apples into small pieces. Then heat the butter in pan over a low/medium heat until melted. Add the sugar and apples to the pan and simmer until tender - this should take around 10-15 minutes. Mix together the cornflour and water in a separate bowl and then add this to the apple mixture to thicken the sauce. Bring the mixture to the boil and continue to simmer for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Take this off the heat and set aside to cool completely.
Next step - making the pastry decorations.
Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC fan and lightly dust a baking tray with flour.
Crumb together the butter and sugar using your fingertips until you have a breadcrumb like consistency. Mix in the sugar and then mix in one half of the egg. If you feel like your dough is either too wet or too dry, add in a little flour or milk until you have a soft dough.
Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to around 0.5cm thickness and cut out whatever kind of shapes you like. Arrange your shapes onto a baking tray and brush lightly with the remaining half of the egg. Finally, sprinkle the pastry shapes with the cinnamon sugar and bake in the oven for 10 mins until golden. Set aside to cool on a wire rack while you make the cupcakes. Keep the oven at 200ºC/180ºC fan ready for the cupcakes.
Time for the cupcakes!
Prepare the cupcake tray by lining with 12 cupcake cases. Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, and then add in the eggs, vanilla, mixed spice and cinnamon and beat again to combine. Finally, add in the flour and baking powder and mix until combined into a smooth batter. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake cases, each should be around two thirds full. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until golden brown and spongey to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Once cooled, take a small sharp knife and cut a small hole in the centre of each cupcake. The centres aren't needed again so feel free to eat them as you go - that's what we do!
Fill each cupcake with a spoonful of the apple pie filling.
To make the buttercream start by beating the butter until soft and fluffy. Then gradually beat in the icing sugar and cinnamon one spoonful at a time until smooth.
Spoon the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle, and then pipe onto the cupcakes in swirls.
To finish, decorate each cupcake with a drizzle of caramel sauce and a pastry star.
We really hope you liked this delicious post and add this to your to-bake list.
We're always on the hunt for new flavours for cupcakes or even old classic that we've missed - so please let us know if you have any requests!
And make sure you let us know if you give any of our bakes a go, we especially love seeing those posts. Tag us on any of our social media platforms if you do!
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Antonia and Imogen x
