Caramel Apple Cupcakes with Apple Cider Buttercream

These are one of my favorite cupcakes and they're perfect for any fall dessert table.

• 3 ¾ cups flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups brown sugar
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• ¾ cup chunky applesauce: (I've also just bought chunky applesauce and that works too)
• 3 apples, peeled, cored and choped
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• ½ cup water
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¾ caramel sauce (store bought or make your own, recipe here)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ cups buttermilk
• Apple Cider Frosting:
• 2lb bag of powdered sugar
• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ to ½ cup apple cider

Place applesauce ingredients in small saucepan over low heat and cook until apples are tender. Drain remaining water. Put aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line or grease 2 dozen muffin tins. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl beat the sugar and oil together until well combined. Add applesauce, caramel sauce, and vanilla. Beat for 30 seconds. Then add eggs one at a time. Add flour mixture in slowly, alternating with buttermilk. Pour 2/3 full into muffin cups. Bake for 18 -20 minutes.

Make frosting: Beat butter, cinnamon and powdered sugar on low until incorporated. Add apple cider slowly using only as much as needed to get desired consistency. Adding more powdered sugar if the buttercream gets to runny.

Let cupcakes cool before icing. Once cool top with frosting and drizzle with extra caramel.

S'more Cupcakes

These are the perfect summer treat, and bonus, you get to use a torch.

• Graham Cracker Layer:
• 1 ½ cups crushed graham crackers
• ⅓ cup butter, melted
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• Chocolate Cupcake layer:
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¾ cup boiling water
• Toasted Marshmallow topping:
• 8 egg whites
• 2 cups sugar
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Hershey Chocolate pieces 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line your muffin tin with 2 dozen liners. Pulse graham crackers in your food processor, add butter and sugar and mix until well mixed. Press 1 full Tablespoon onto the bottom of each liner. Put to the side. Make the batter: in your stand up mixer add all the dry ingredients and whisk well. In a separate bowl mix together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Slowly add in the hot water. Mix just until incorporated, do not overmix. Scoop unto graham cracker layer until about ⅔ full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until cooked through and bounce back when lightly touched. Place one bar of hershey chocolate in the middle of each hot cupcake. Let melt and spread around chocolate. Place cupcakes to the side and finish cooling. Make the marshmallow topping: put the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in the heat proof bowl of your mixer. Place the bowl over a saucepan with boiling water. Whisk constantly until sugar dissolves and is warm to touch. Do not let it get hot. Place bowl back on your stand up mixer and using the whisk attachment, whisk, starting on low and then gradually going up to high. Mix for 8-10 minutes. Or until it forms stiff peaks. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated. Place marshmallow frosting into your bag fitted with a 1M tip and pipe onto your cooled cupcakes. Torch and place a hershey chocolate piece into each cupcake. 

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes.

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Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

These might be one of my favorite cupcakes. I could probably sit down and eat a whole bowl of just the custard filling. There just so good. Try some for yourself!

• Custard filling:
• 1 ⅓ cups heavy cream
• 3 egg yolks
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 Tablespoons butter, cut into 2 pieces
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
• Cupcakes:
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 ½ sticks butter, at room temp and cut into small pieces
• Ganache:
• 8 ounces chocolate, chopped (semi-sweet or dark)
• ⅔ cup heavy cream
• ¼  cup light corn syrup
• ½  teaspoon vanilla

Make the pastry cream by bringing the heavy cream to a simmer over medium heat in a saucepan. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together until pale yellow and thick. Slowly stir some of the hot cram into the egg mixture, then return the whole bowl in the saucepan and cook, whisking constantly, until thick and glossy, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter. Transfer to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly to surface of custard. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 

Make the cupcakes: preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your cupcake pan with cupcake liners. In your stand up mixer, mix the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Beat in the butter, adding 1 Tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat until the mixture looks like moist crumbs. Beat in the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla, mixing well. Scoop into your prepared liners, filling about 3/4" full. Bake for 18 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. 

Make the ganache: Microwave all the ganache ingredients together, whisking often, until melted and smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Let glaze cool until it's thick but pourable. About 30 minutes. 

To fill the cupcakes with the custard: scoop out the inside of the cupcake by cutting around the inner edge of the top of each cupcake, removing a cone-shaped piece from each cupcake. Fill with 2 Tablespoons of the custard, trim and replace the cupcake top and set back on wire rack over wax paper. Spread ganache over cupcakes.
Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes.

Gluten Free Double Chocolate Cupcakes

These gluten free cupcakes are so good, you won't even be able to tell there's no flour in them! 

• 2 ½ cups gluten free all-purpose flour, I use Bob's Red Mill
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 heaping teaspoon Xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup boiling water

Chocolate Buttercream

• 1 cup butter, softened
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 1 lb bag of powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons heavy cream (or more as needed)

In the bowl of your stand up mixer whisk together your dry ingredients until well blended. Slowly add the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. Add hot water. Mix on low speed, just until incorporated. Careful not to over mix. Pour into prepared cupcake liners and bake at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes. Or until tops bounce back when touched. Let cool and then frost.

To make buttercream: beat butter on high until creamy. Slowly add powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add vanilla and heavy cream and mix until creamy. Adding more heavy cream until you get the desired consistency. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

Makes 30 cupcakes.