Apple Pie Cupcakes

This was another recipe I found on alpineberry, which has actually been adapted from a Donna Hay recipe and I absolutely love it!! It's funny, I used to be a 100% savoury girl before I got pregnant, hardly interested in cakes or cookies or anything. Just about the only sweet thing I ate was chocolate. But my tastes have obviously changed because now I am a sweet girl! I still find I can't eat a lot of it which is a very good thing, but savoury doesn't hold the thrill for me that it once did and now I am actually enjoying all the sweet things I am baking.

Taste: These are so light and fluffy, they are gorgeous. The only actual apple in them is on top, but the cake is sweet enough to make it a good mix. The cinnamon frosting is lovely, although with me not being able to handle huge overloads of sweetness, I need it really thin. The true test will be when the HTC comes home, I have a feeling he will love the sweet frosting!

Texture: The cakes themselves are lovely and light. I am a little disappointed with the apple topping though, some of the apples were still not cooked through as much as I would like, so a little firm. The frosting has a gorgeous fluffy texture, very nice.

Changes for next time: These actually went in for 26 minutes in my oven, so needed a little longer. I had troubles with the apple topping, I tried twice to heat the butter and sugar over a low heat but the sugar never really dissolved properly which was disappointing. I used coles brand butter and sugar so may try a different one next time to see if it works better. The apples also need to be sliced very thin for the topping, mine were a little thick. I would also leave the cakes in the tins to cool for longer initially, I had some trouble getting them out without slightly squashing the sides of the cake. I had way too much frosting in the end, even with a thick layer on most of the cakes, so could make less next time. I also think these would be interesting with some apple flavouring mixed into them, or perhaps more of a diced/stewed apple topping rather than the apple slices.

New Skills: I hadn't tried using a piping bag for icing before, but I was pleased with the results. Turns out all that sundae making at Hungry Jacks during my teenage years may have paid off

So here they are, along with my try at a bit more artful photography of the finished product ;)

Apple Pie Cupcakes

Adapted from Donna Hay recipe
Makes 24


Cupcakes
2 1/4 all purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
255 g unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon or orange zest
1 cup whole milk

Apple Topping
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

Cinnamon Frosting
340 g unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

To cook the apples:
Place butter and sugar in a large fry pan over low-medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add apple slices and cook for 8-10 minutes or until apples are lightly caramelized. Remove apples from pan and let cool completely.

To make the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 160 degrees celcius. Line 24 muffin wells with paper liners.Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside dry ingredients.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides if the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla and grated zest. On low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until flour is barely incorporated. Add the milk and mix until just smooth.

Divide the batter among lined muffin wells, filling each well about 2/3 full. Top with the apples.Bake at 160 degrees celcius until a cake tester comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from pan and cool cupcakes on cooling racks. Make sure cupcakes are completely cooled before frosting.

To frost the cupcakes:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the icing sugar and cinnamon and beat for another 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Frost the cupcakes with an icing spatula or piping bag. Optional: Lightly dust frosted cupcakes with 2-3 tsp ground cinnamon.