Caramel Apple Spice Cupcakes
Crunchy apple chunks in a moist spice cake topped with a fluffy buttercream striped with caramel.
Yield: 24 people
Calories: 311kcal
Materials
Cupcakes:
- 1 20 oz. can apple pie filling
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 15.25 oz. box spice cake mix
Frosting:
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks), room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp. apple pie spice
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup dulce de leche (caramel), canned by Nestle
- optional: kosher salt
Instructions
Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350° and line muffin pan with 24 cupcake liners.
- Chop or cut apples in pie filling to small cubes, approx. 1/2" in size. Set aside.
- In large bowl, mix eggs, oil, and cake mix. Scrape sides and mix thoroughly.
- Add pie filling and stir. Pour into cupcake liners and bake for approx. 20 minutes, or when toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from muffin pans and allow to cool on wire rack.
Frosting:
- In large bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar in batches. Add apple pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Scrape sides and mix thoroughly. Add vanilla and beat on high until light and fluffy.
- Stir canned caramel to loosen it up, it should be thick. If it's not thick, briefly refrigerate. Drop dollops of caramel onto buttercream still in bowl. Briefly swirl caramel using spatula leaving streaks and chunks. Don't over mix; the caramel chunks make some of the best stripes in the frosting.
- Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes. Enjoy!
- OPTIONAL: sprinkle cupcakes with kosher salt for salted caramel effect.
Nutrition
Calories: 311kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 190mg | Potassium: 11mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 384IU | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg