In today’s post: Moist spiced apple cupcakes are topped with a light, fluffy caramel frosting to make these delicious Caramel Apple Cupcakes – and they only take six ingredients to make! This is an easy fall treat everyone will love.
Easy Fall Dessert
I’m a big fan of easy recipes that turn out amazing, and today’s recipe is just that! The cupcakes are moist and apple-ly and full of fall spices, but they only take three ingredients to make. The frosting is light and fluffy with a mild caramel flavor and it only takes three ingredients too! And if you prefer, you can serve the cupcakes without frosting a call them apple muffins instead.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make these easy Caramel Apple Cupcakes:
- Spice Cake Mix: I know most baked goods are better from scratch, but cake mixes are actually pretty amazing. Starting with a spice cake mix means these cupcakes comes together quickly and are full of flavor – and you don’t have to worry about adding cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc.
- Apple Pie Filling: Using apple pie filling instead of fresh apples is a genius move here. No need to peel and slice the apples and no worries that the apple chunks won’t get cooked through in time. Just dump in the apple pie filling and you are good to go!
- Eggs: The third ingredient for these easy apple cupcakes.
- Butter: Every good frosting recipe starts with butter, and this one is no exception. I use salted butter in this recipe, but if you’d like to use unsalted just add a pinch of salt to the frosting. Just be sure the butter is at room temperature before making the frosting.
- Caramel Topping: You’ll whip some caramel topping in with the butter to make a light, mild caramel frosting for the apple cupcakes – it’s perfect sweet without overpowering the apple flavor.
- Powdered Sugar: The third ingredient in our easy caramel buttercream frosting.
Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Serves: 20
Moist spiced apple cupcakes are topped with a delicious caramel buttercream and drizzled with more caramel – and you only need six ingredients total for this indulgent fall dessert!
Ingredients
- 1 Spice Cake Mix 15.25 oz or 13.25 oz
- 1 can Apple Pie Filling 21 oz
- 4 Eggs
- 1 cup Butter softened
- 1/3 cup Caramel Ice Cream Topping plus more for drizzling
- 3-4 cups Powdered Sugar
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake tin. Lightly spray cupcake liners with nonstick spray.
- In a medium bowl, beat together the cake mix, apple pie filling and four eggs. Beat until well combined, but do not beat so long that the apple pie pieces get pulverized – you want bite size pieces to remain.
- Scoop about 3 tablespoons of batter into each cupcake liner. This should only fill them barely over halfway – if you add more the cupcakes may bake up over the sides of the liners. Depending on which size cake mix you use, you may have some extra batter left over.
- Bake cupcakes about 18-20 minutes until tops are puffed and spring back when you touch them and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.
- For the frosting, begin by placing the softened butter in a mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer and beating until light and fluffy. Then add the caramel topping and beat it into the butter until well incorporated, light and fluffy. Then gradually beat in powdered sugar, beating well, until your frosting gets to the consistency you prefer. The amount of powdered sugar you need will depend on how thick or runny your caramel topping is. I used Smucker's brand caramel and used just over 3 cups powdered sugar. If your frosting gets too thick to incorporate 3 full cups of powdered sugar add just a little milk as needed.
- Frost the cupcakes, then drizzle with additional caramel topping if desired.
Tips
Use caramel “topping” (like the Smucker’s brand found in the ice cream aisle), not caramel “sauce” or “syrup”, which is much runnier. You can use a homemade caramel sauce (as long as it is not runny) or salted caramel topping if you prefer.
The frosting recipe makes enough for a moderate amount of frosting on each cupcake (the amount you see in these photos). If you like a LOT of frosting on each cupcake, you may want to increase the frosting amounts.
If you would like to garnish each cupcake with a slice of apple, do so right before serving, and do not add apples to cupcakes you will be saving for another day. I like honeycrisp or granny smith apples best for garnishing.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Cupcakes
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