Apple Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Yet another recipe adapted from Canadian Living. I baked this for my boss's birthday. This was a perfect Thanksgiving/fall recipe and the aroma while baking was AMAZING.  My brother's verdict who is a taco-bites with occasional desserts kind-of-person was: "This is surprisingly good!". Sharing this at work, I got a lot of feedback that this actually wasn't too sweet, and smelt very good!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla 
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk with 1 tsp lemon juice allow to stand for 5 minutes)
• 1 1/2 cups of cake-and-pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg
• 1 medium-sized apple grated, drain juices (I used honeycrisp Apple). 

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Celsius. 
2. In butter mixture: Beat butter, and gradually add brown sugar. Add egg, vanilla and beat until well mixed. Combine buttermilk. Set aside.
3. For dry mixture: In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. 
4. Stir in dry mixture gradually (beating between additions) until well combined. Beat in apple mixture. 
5. Bake for 17 minutes, or until cake tester comes out dry. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (125 g, or 3 ounces) of cream cheese
• 1/2 stick (2 ounces) of unsalted butter
• 1 cups confectioner's (or icing) sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

** this makes just enough icing for the amount of cupcakes in the recipe above 

Steps

1. Beat together cream cheese and butter until fluffy.
2. Beat in vanilla and cinnamon.
3. Gradually add confectioner's sugar (half a cup at a time), beating between additions. Scrape down sides as necessary.
4. Ice cupcakes (once cooled down) with a 1M Wilton Tip. 

These were the honeycrisp apples I bought from farmer's market. 

STEP BY STEP ILLUSTRATED INSTRUCTIONS »

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Celsius.

Butter Mixture

2. Measure out half cup of butter and beat until fluffy. 

3. Add in 3/4 cup of brown sugar 1/4 cup at a time, beating between additions. Scrape down sides between additions in order to ensure this mixes evenly.

4. Add one egg, beat.

5. Add vanilla and buttermilk, beat and combine well.

Dry Ingredients

6. Measure out flour.

7. Add baking soda and baking powder.

8. Measure out cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, add to flour mixture:

9. Peel and grate apple.

10. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture half a copy at a time, beat between additions, scrape down sides as necessary.

11. Incorporate grated apple.

12. Line cupcake try with paper liners, and spoon in to a level of 3/4 full.

13. Place in oven and bake for 17 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

1.  Beat together cream cheese and butter

2. Add cinnamon and vanilla, mix together with spatula. 

3. Mix together until well combined:

4. Add icing sugar half a cup at a time and combine with spatula (initially). 

5. Beat together (do not overbeat), or else it will be too runny. 

6. I usually put an icing bag in a cup, and spoon icing into cup until 3/4 full. Twist and seal off with a "chip sealer" clip. 

7. Store in fridge or ice cakes. 

The final product:

A mini cupcake, although this picture makes it look huge!

To receive updates, follow me on Instagram, Twitter and on Facebook.

You can also subscribe to this blog via BlogLovin. 

See more posts on bakingand recipes.