I thought I'd found heaven in a cupcake when I ran across this recipe for Apple Pie Cupcakes. I wanted our visitors to have this wonderful experience, too, so I was given permission by Annie from
Annie's Eats
to reprint the recipe on our site. She has a lovely site, and I hope everyone will get the chance to take a look some time.
These particular cupcakes are not just children's cupcakes, they are serious "adult" cupcakes as well. I'm convinced they would even win a cupcake contest, if one were held.
So here I was with this wonderful apple pie cupcake recipe and a free Sunday afternoon to give them a try. I have to admit that the entire recipe is "from scratch" and takes a bit of time.
However, just so everyone won't go screaming from the site, maybe we can come up with a way to complete some steps ahead of time, or even a way to make the process of making the apple pie cupcakes a little faster using convenience foods.
All I can say is that I made this exact recipe for the cupcakes and the "pie filling." Although I chose to use a slightly different recipe for the vanilla buttercream, this one was from scratch,too. I must say the whole package is "delish," to borrow a word from Rachael Ray.
If you bring these apple pie cupcakes out for dessert at your next get-together, I can almost predict that your guests will love them and be asking for the recipe, too.
Ingredients for the Cupcakes
3 cups sifted cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk
Ingredients for the Apple Filling
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2-3 tablespoons sugar
3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced.
Method for making Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. These cupcakes are large and rise to a point where they overlap onto the top of the cupcake pan. It probably would be wise to spray the top of the pan with cooking spray so they don't stick. Do I sound like this may have happened to me? 8-)
In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition; add the vanilla extract and mix well to combine.
Add in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3-3/4 full.
Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 to 22 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pans. Transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.
Method for making the Apple Filling
Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the cinnamon and sugar and cook for a minute, until the mixture begins to bubble.
Lower the heat to medium and stir in the apples. Mix well. Cook until the apples are somewhat tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
While the apple mixture is cooking, use the cone method (not very deep) to remove a small chunk from the center of each cupcake, making sure to leave a rim around the top of the cupcake.
Fill the holes with just a small amount of the cooled apple mixture because there really isn't a whole lot to spare.
To decorate, top each cupcake with a swirl of vanilla buttercream.
In large bowl, cream together shortening and butter with electric mixer; add vanilla.
Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often.
When all the sugar has been mixed in, the icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat until light and fluffy. If the buttercream is still too dry, you can try adding more milk...only about a teaspoon at a time, beating between each. More sugar can be sifted in, if the mixture turns out to be too thin.
Make ahead ideas to lessen the task of trying to make the entire batch of apple pie cupcakes in a single day.
Cupcakes can be made ahead and frozen until needed.
Apple filling can be made the day before and refrigerated until needed.
The vanilla buttercream can also be made a day or two ahead, covered tightly, and refrigerated. Remove from refrigerator about 1/2 hour before needed to more accurately judge the consistently. Then, more milk can be added, a teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency is again reached, if necessary.
More time-saving ideas using convenience foods.
Cupcakes could be made using yellow cake mix, following the directions on the box for 24 cupcakes.
A can of apple pie filling could be cut up into smaller pieces and used as the apple filling.
A possible alternative to the vanilla buttercream could be a premade vanilla or cream cheese frosting purchased in the grocery store.
Please don't leave just yet...how about giving our Baked Barbecue Chicken a look see. It's really popular in the Finn household. Let me know how your family likes it by using this Contact Penny form. Use this same form to ask questions or give me your feedback on any of the recipes 24-7.
