Apple Pie Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream
These delicious Apple Pie Cupcakes are stuffed with an apple pie filling, and topped off with salted caramel buttercream frosting and a caramel drizzle.
Hi everyone! I’m Kelly, and I share family favorite recipes over on my blog, Life Made Sweeter. I am so excited to be guest posting here today as part of Amber’s new contributor team.
I love whipping up sweet treats with fun and creative flavor combinations, so today I am sharing these Apple Pie Cupcakes which are a cross between a cupcake and an apple pie.
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Since Amber and I both share a love for this classic dessert, I thought it would be fun to combine all of the comforting flavors of apple pie into a delicious cupcake.
These are as easy as pie to whip up too! Well — they may be even easier since you won’t have to roll out any dough. Plus cupcakes take way less effort to share with a crowd.
First we start off with these spiced apple pie cupcakes that are a breeze to make. You’ll love how easy it is to whip up the batter and best of all, you won’t need your mixer!
There’s Greek yogurt and buttermilk in the batter which keeps the cupcakes light and fluffy. Oh and be prepared for the sweet aroma of sugary cinnnamon and apple spices that will fill up your house while they’re baking in the oven — it seriously doesn’t get any better than that!
After they’ve cooled off, we’ll cut out a circle at the top of the cupcakes and stuff them with a homemade apple pie filling.
And then there’s an oozy layer of salted caramel sauce which we’ll pour over the cupcakes.
A piping of salted caramel buttercream frosting gives these the perfect combination of salty and sweet. It’s like creamy caramel bliss and goes perfectly with all the cinnamon and apple-y flavors.
And finally – we’ll top these off with an additional drizzle of salted caramel sauce, apple filling, and pecans. One bite of these cupcakes will have you ready to welcome all the fall flavors with open arms!
You may also want to try these other apple recipes from Life Made Sweeter:
- Apple Pie Pecan Cinnamon Rolls with Salted Glaze {GF}}
- Baked Apple Cinnnamon Doughnuts with Maple Glaze
Apple Pie Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream
Ingredients
Spiced Apple Cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour, (stir, spoon & level)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp apple pie spice, {or substitute with a pinch of each of these spices: nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves}
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) buttermilk, (or combine ⅓ cup milk + 1 teaspoon white vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes)
- ¼ cup (64 g) Greek yogurt , (I used non-fat)
Apple Pie Filling
- 2 medium sized apples, peeled, cored and diced
- 2 Tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter
- ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, gently packed
- lemon juice from a quarter lemon
- ½ Tbsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp apple pie spice, {or substitute with a pinch of each of these spices: nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves}
Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (82 g) salted caramel sauce, at room temperature (I used store-bought)
- pinch salt
- 1 ½ to 2 cups (180-240 g) powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp heavy cream
Optional Toppings
- Chopped pecans or walnuts
- Salted caramel sauce for garnish
- Apple pie filling for garnish
- Apple slices for garnish
Instructions
- For the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cupcake pan with paper cups.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, apple pie spice, and salt.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave in 20 second increments until melted. Whisk in sugar. Mix in eggs one at a time until well mixed. Pour in vanilla, buttermilk, and yogurt until combined. Slowly stir in dry ingredients until no lumps remain. Batter will be thick.
- Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling each ⅔ full.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 17 to 19 minutes or when a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool in muffin tin several minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before filling and frosting.
- Make the apple pie filling: In a medium saucepan, place chopped apples, butter, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and apple pie spice together. Cook over medium heat for about 5 to 8 minutes, until apples are tender. Stir occasionally. Allow mixture to cool.
- Make the frosting: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or with your hand mixer, cream butter on medium high speed for about 3 to 4 minutes. Add vanilla extract and salted caramel sauce; mix until combined, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and salt; beat on low until powdered sugar is incorporated. Add heavy cream and then add more powdered sugar until desired consistency is achieved.
- Increase speed to medium, and beat until smooth and well combined for another 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Prepare a piping bag and fill with frosting.
- Assembly: Using a small knife, cut and remove a circle in the center of each cupcake.
- Fill with apple filling.
- Pour a layer of salted caramel over the apples.
- Pipe frosting on top. ( I used a Wilton 1M tip )
- Drizzle with more salted caramel sauce and add optional toppings if desired.
Notes
Did you make this?
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These cupcakes are everything. How should they be stored if won’t be delivered for at least 6 hours.
So glad you like Kelly’s cupcakes! I would just put them in an airtight container — any container that won’t smash the tops, but has a lid.
I have made these cupcakes two times now. They are absolutely delicious. My cupcakes look homade/rustic because I did not pipe the frosting. My husband took them to work for a luncheon and I took them to Garden club. Great fall recipe.
What brand of salted caramel sauce did you use?
Hi Jen, I use Smucker’s Simple Delight Salted Caramel Topping.
Hi I’m having some trouble. I’ve made these cupcakes before without a problem but when I tried to make them this time around, they cave in on themselves. This is my third attempt and each time I make them again, I’m more careful than the time before to follow the recipe to a t and I still have no idea what I’m doing wrong. Any advice?
Hi Andrea! That’s not good. I’m sorry! Is the weather bad where you live? It really can throw off a baking day. How old is your baking powder? If it’s old, you may want to try some fresh baking powder, or you could try baking soda instead. Another idea is to crank up the heat to 375 or even 400 degrees Fahrenheit and bake them for less time. Start checking around 12 minutes. I hope you can get it figured out!
Can you use something else in place of the Greek Yogurt?
Hi Pam! Sour cream would work great too.
I made these for a cupcake contest at work and won for best taste! They were fantastic! I plan to make this as a whole cake next. Thanks for sharing the recipe!!
I am a bit surprised that the recipe makes 14 cupcakes. Most cupcake carriers can hold 12 or 24 cupcakes and ALL muffin tins hold 12 cupcakes. Is there a way to adjust the recipe so that it makes 24?
I’ve been baking cupcakes for our HS football coaching staff, every Monday, after their Friday night win, this season. They had a perfect 9-0 season and are now winning their way through the playoffs. I’ve had an extra-special, “different” cupcake every week, and I’m told they wait with great anticipation for what they will have. This one DEFINITELY has to be their treat, this week. Looking forward to these. So glad I stumbled across your site and this beautiful fall treat!! Toni–Gommy of 6
What kinds of apples did you use?
Kelly might have to interject here because this is her recipe, but you really can use whatever apple suits your fancy. Depending on your sugar tolerance you might want to stick with a more tart apple, like Granny Smith, but I also like to use Gala, Braeburn, or Fuji for my apple recipes.
Hi Sarah, I used one Granny Smith and one Gala but like Amber said, feel free to use whatever apple you prefer or have on hand 🙂