Apple Pie Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream
Combining everyone's love for apple pie and cupcakes. These Apple Pie Cupcakes are cinnamon cupcakes topped with salted caramel buttercream, and filled with an apple pie filling. They remind me of fall, taste like fall, and are the perfect recipe to bake during fall!
Servings: 14 cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Apple Pie Filling
- 2 apples (I used granny smith), peeled, cored, and chopped
- 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp water, divided
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
For the Cupcakes
- 1 2/3 cups (220g) cake flour
- 1/2 cup (124g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (127g) light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (114g) whole milk at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (112g) sour cream at room temperature
For the Salted Caramel Buttercream
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/3 cup salted caramel sauce (see note)
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
For the Apple Pie Filling
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in apples, sugar, 1 Tbsp water, and cinnamon.
- Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 6 minutes or until very slightly softened.
- In a small dish combine cornstarch and 1 Tbsp water. Add the mixture to the pan while stirring and continue to cook over medium heat until apples are tender and mixture has thickened.
- Remove from heat, pour into an airtight container, and chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour before adding to cupcakes.
For the Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Whisk together cake flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Beat in butter, whisking until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
- Beat in the milk and sour cream, mixing just until the batter is smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 10 seconds more on medium speed. Divide the batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3-full (you should get 14 to 15 cupcakes out of this batter).
- Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Cool cupcakes in pans 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
For the Cinnamon-Salted Caramel Buttercream
- Beat the butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer in a large bowl 1 to 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the caramel sauce until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in the vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with your desired tip. Frost around the rim of each cupcake, leaving a small well in the center. Fill the well with the chilled apple pie filling.
Notes
I highly recommend using homemade salted caramel for the buttercream. Check out this tutorial where I show you how to do it!