Caramel Apple Cupcakes Recipe – This is the first-place winning dessert recipe for the 2012 Art and Apples Festival in Downtown Rochester MI.
Oakland County Moms is proud to feature the award-winning recipes from the Art and Apples Festival in Downtown Rochester each year in our recipes section. Diana Lenaway of Washington, Michigan won 1st place in the 2012 Art and Apples Dessert Contest with this recipe for Caramel Apple Cupcakes. Special thanks to Diana for sharing this delicious apple dessert recipe!
Caramel Apple Cupcakes Recipe Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4 apples (about 1 pound) peeled and shredded. We used Granny Smith
Caramel Apple Cupcakes Recipe Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cupcake pans with baking liners. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth. Whisk in the oil and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture until just combined; stir in the apples. Spoon the batter into the pans until almost full. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
Caramel Apple Cupcakes Caramel Sauce Ingredients
- 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Caramel Apple Cupcakes Caramel Sauce Instructions
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar begins to foam. It will look and smell like it’s on the verge of burning. Remove from heat and add the heavy cream. Stir until the sauch is smooth then mix in the vanillla and salt. Let cool.
Caramel Buttercream Frosting Ingredients
- 16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 lb. confectioners’ sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon pure caramel extract (available through Watkins)
- pinch of coarse salt
- 2 tbsp. heavy cream
Caramel Buttercream Frosting Instructions
Add butter to the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed 1 minute until smooth. Blend in the confectioners sugar until smooth, 1 – 2 minutes. Mix in the vanilla, caramel extract and salt until incorporated. Add the heavy cream and whip on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 – 4 minutes.
Decorate by piping frosting onto cupcakes and drizzling caramel sauce over the top. Cut apple slices to fit accordingly, making sure they are soaked in lemon juice before hand to avoid turning brown.
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