Apple Butter Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream
Apple butter cupcakes are moist little snacking cakes in cupcake form topped with luscious Maple Buttercream. They’re full of warm Apple Pie Spice and all the cozy feels of Fall and this recipe makes enough for a party. Make some coffee, these cupcakes deserve it!
| Taste | Texture | ||
| Apple spice, maple | Tender, rich |
| Active time | Total time | Yield | Difficulty |
| 15 minutes | 1 hour | 18 cupcakes | Easy |
I’m always figuring out new ways to incorporate apples into my desserts. Lucky for you, I found a jar of my homemade apple butter in my freezer. A little tinkering and testing and a couple batches later we ended up with these delicious little treats that are somewhere between an apple butter muffin and a vanilla cake. I paired them with Maple Buttercream because I couldn’t resist adding another Fall flavor into the mix.
Apple Butter Cupcakes are:
Ingredients for Apple Butter Cupcakes
Apple Butter Cupcake Batter
- Butter, at room temperature
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Apple pie spice
- Apple butter (Homemade Apple Butter or jarred)
- Sour cream
- Vanilla extract
Maple Buttercream
- Whole milk
- Granulated sugar
- Maple sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Butter, at room temperature
- Vanilla extract
- Maple extract
How to Make Apple Butter Cupcakes
- Make the Maple Buttercream: Make a batch of Maple Buttercream according to the recipe. You can do this up to a week ahead of time if you store the frosting in a sealed container in the fridge. You can also freeze the buttercream a couple of months ahead of time.
- Prep the Muffin Pans: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the muffin pans with a total of 18 cupcake liners.
- Beat the Butter and Sugar: Beat the butter and sugars together until the butter is light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until smooth.
- Mix the Dry Ingredients: Mix the flour with the apple pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
- Finish the Batter: Pour about half the flour into the butter mixture and stir to combine. Next, add in all of the apple butter and sour cream, stirring for a few seconds to moisten the batter. Finish the batter by adding in the rest of the flour mixture. Stir for a few seconds with the mixer and then use a baking spatula to stir by hand for a few turns, just so that no remaining flour is visible.
- Bake the Cupcakes: Scoop the cupcakes into the papers, filling them near the top of each paper. Bake the cupcakes for 18-22 minutes, until the cupcakes are deep golden brown and the tops spring back when you touch them in the middle. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
- Frost the Cupcakes: Whip the frosting just long enough until it’s a nice spreadable consistency. Scoop the frosting into a piping bag fitted with your favorite decorative tip. Squeeze on a swirl of frosting on to each cupcake.
Other Toppings for Apple Butter Cupcakes
- Vegan Caramel Sauce: Dip the tops of the cupcakes in the sauce and sprinkle with chopped dried apples
- Vanilla Ermine Frosting: Plain but far from boring and super cheap to make.
- Granola Butter: For a healthier cupcake, this almond coconutty spread adds some nice crunch
- Apple Butter: Skip the frosting entirely and just serve an extra dollop of Homemade Apple Butter.
- The Best Whipped Cream Frosting: There’s not a single cupcake on earth made less awesome by the addition of this frosting!
Apple Butter Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 18 cupcakes 1x
Description
Cozy Fall cupcakes rich with apple butter, apple pie spice and a swirl of Maple Buttercream for the kind of Autumn afternoon snack cake you want to eat next to the fireplace with a mug of your favorite coffee.
Ingredients
Scale
Apple Butter Cupcake Batter
- 2 sticks butter (227 g), at room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150 g)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar (107 g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 tablespoon apple whiskey
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice (or 1 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg)
- 1 cup apple butter (Homemade Apple Butter or jarred) (270 g)
- 1/4 cup sour cream (57 g)
Frosting
- 1 recipe of Ermine Frosting (Vanilla Ermine Frosting or Maple Buttercream)
Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- 2 muffin tins (12 wells each)
- Cupcake liners
- Pastry bag with decorative tip
Instructions
Make the Maple Buttercream
- Make a batch of Maple Buttercream according to the recipe. You can do this up to a week ahead of time if you store the frosting in a sealed container in the fridge. You can also freeze the buttercream a couple of months ahead of time.
- If it’s a cold day, take the frosting out of the fridge now so that it has a chance to warm up. Otherwise, you can wait to take it out of the fridge when the cupcakes are in the oven.
Prep
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Line the muffin pans with a total of 18 cupcake liners.
Make the Batter
- Beat the butter and sugars together until the butter is light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until smooth.
- Mix the flour with the apple pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
- Pour about half the flour into the butter mixture and stir to combine.
- Next, add in all of the apple butter and sour cream, stirring for a few seconds to moisten the batter.
- Finish the batter by adding in the rest of the flour mixture. Stir for a few seconds with the mixer and then use a baking spatula to stir by hand for a few turns, just so that no remaining flour is visible.
Bake the Cupcakes
- Scoop the cupcakes into the papers, filling them near the top of each paper.
- Bake the cupcakes for 18-22 minutes, until the cupcakes are deep golden brown and the tops spring back when you touch them in the middle.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
Frost the Cupcakes
- Whip the frosting just long enough until it’s a nice spreadable consistency.
- Scoop the frosting into a piping bag fitted with your favorite decorative tip.
- Squeeze on a swirl of frosting on to each cupcake.
Storing Cupcakes
- The cupcakes are good eaten right as you frost them. If you want to store them for longer, store them in a lidded container in the fridge. Cupcakes can be kept in the fridge for up to 1 week, frosted.
- If you want to store the cakes for longer, freeze them unfrosted in Ziploc bags with as much air removed as possible for up to 3 months.
Notes
Other Frostings and Toppings You Can Use:
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
