Fluffy apple-spiced cupcakes topped with a smooth and silky caramel swiss meringue buttercream!
One of my favorite fall treats is definitely the caramel apple. Let’s be honest, any time something healthy is transformed into something not-so-healthy, I’m totally on board.
And while I do love, love, love caramel apples (caramel is my homegirl), I’m not in love with how sticky and messy they can be. It’s almost impossible not to end up with a sticky nose, chin, cheeks, and sometimes, forehead. I don’t even know how it happens! It just does!
Thus why I opted to make these Caramel Apple Cupcakes as an alternative for enjoying one of my fall favorites.
These cupcakes are SO incredibly moist and fluffy, you won’t believe that there’s only 1/4 cup of oil in the entire recipe. Granted, the buttercream contains 3 sticks of butter, but hey, I had to balance it out somewhere.
Applesauce not only replaces half of the oil in the recipe, but it also infuses some of that fresh apple goodness into the cupcakes. And since I’m notorious for not liking chunks of fruit in my cake (berries are the exception), I added one packet of apple cider mix instead of the usual apple chunks. I did this before with my Apple Cider Cupcakes, and it added such a wonderful freshly-picked apple flavor.
To amplify the sweetness and flavor of the cupcakes, I added some cinnamon, ground cloves, and freshly-grated nutmeg. Out of all the spices I used, I’d have to say that the ground cloves really brought out more of that apple essence. While the recipe only calls for about 1/4 teaspoon, it definitely makes a huge difference. Don’t skip it!
Since the cupcakes are so full of flavor and sweetness, I decided to go with a Swiss Meringue Buttercream which isn’t as sweet as most buttercreams.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream has the reputation of being rather temperamental. Originally, I was planning on sticking with the easy peasy American Buttercream (butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla) because I wasn’t sure if I felt like tempting the baking Gods this week. I mean, it’s not like I’ve never made Swiss Meringue Buttercream before. It’s just that it can feel a bit intimidating when you know how easily it can turn into a curdly, soupy bowl of cholesterol. (Sounds appetizing, I know.)
Well, my ambitions got that best of me, and yes, this is exactly what happened to me.
Of course….thanks a lot, baking Gods.
Once all of the butter had been added, I tried to have faith that the mixture would turn into that silky, satiny Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Several minutes of heavy beating went by, and it still had a soupy texture. What da FUDGE did I do wrong??? Ughhhhhhh…before giving up (and swearing up a storm over the amount of butter wasted), I decided to enlist the help of Google. Thankfully, I came across a super helpful (more like lifesaving) post written by The Brewer & The Baker on How to fix Swiss Meringue Buttercream. All I had to do was pop the buttercream in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes, take it out, and beat again until it came back together. I have to admit that I was feeling a little pessimistic, but eventually my soft and satiny Swiss Meringue Buttercream emerged! Witchcraft, I tell ya…
Case in point, do NOT let the unpredictability of SMB intimidate you. It’s super forgiving and always fixable! In most cases, all you really need to do is keep beating the buttercream. This can take SEVERAL minutes, but just have patience (which I lack, apparently)–it WILL come together! In fact, the second time I made this, it went from runny soup, to curdly cottage cheese, to satiny perfection within the span of 8 minutes of beating. Though it felt like a lifetime!
Once the buttercream was whipped up, I mixed in some of this deliciously thick salted caramel, AKA golden syrup of the Gods.
Trust me, this buttercream is well worth ANY frustration you might experience. It pipes immaculately (Yo! Check out them beautiful ruffles!) and melts instantly once it hits your tongue. The sweetness is more subtle, and the texture is smooth and silky. This heavenly texture paired with the soft and pillowy apple-spiced cupcakes is the best way I can think of to welcome the prettiest season of all!
Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- ¾ cup hot water
- 1 (21g) packet Apple Cider mix (dry)*
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 5 egg whites, room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 6-8 Tablespoons caramel sauce, plus more for drizzling
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF, and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Add the Apple Cider mix to the hot water, and stir until fully dissolved; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, spices, and both sugars until well blended. Add the yogurt, oil, applesauce, egg, vanilla, and cider liquid and stir until just combined.
- Pour batter into cupcake liners, filling 2/3 of the way. Bake in the oven for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with few crumbs attached. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the Buttercream:
- In a metal bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites and sugar together. Remove bowl from mixer, then place over a pan of simmering water, not touching the water. Whisk until warm and sugar is dissolved, about 2-3 minutes. Mixture should feel completely smooth with no graininess when a bit is rubbed between two fingers. Remove from heat.
- Return bowl to the stand mixer, and whip on high using the whisk attachment until mixture is thick and glossy, forming stiff peaks, about 4-5 minutes. Continue to whip until the bowl feels room temperature to the touch, about 3-4 additional minutes.
- Switch the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low, drop in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. If frosting appears curdled or clumpy at any time, increase speed to medium-high and beat until smooth. (See tips on curdled or runny buttercream above.)* Add the caramel and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.
- Frost or pipe buttercream onto cooled cupcakes, as desired. Drizzle with extra caramel syrup just before serving.