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–+ servings
5 from 1 vote

Apple & Spice Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting & Brown Sugared Pecans

Fresh diced apples, brown sugar, buttermilk and lots of spice come together in these delightful cupcakes. Then … we frosted them with a caramel cream cheese frosting and a sprinkling of brown sugar’d pecans pieces. Sooooo good! 🧁
Servings 20 Standard Cupcakes
Prep Time 30 minutes
18 minutes

Equipment

  • Standard (traditional) Muffin Tin
  • Paper cupcake liners
  • Electric Mixer

Ingredients

Apple & Spice Cupcakes

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup canola oil
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk can use regular or low fat
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp. cardamom
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 3 cups diced apples (peeled and cored) See link above for the best baking apple varietals. We use Honeycrisp usually for this recipe.
  • 2 tbsp. lemon juice

Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 4 oz. butter, at room temp 4 oz. = 1 stick or 1/2 cup
  • 4+ cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 8 oz. full fat cream cheese at room temp
  • 2 tbsp. caramel sauce
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Brown Sugared Pecans

  • 1 cup pecan pieces
  • 1 tbsp. butter
  • 2 tbsp. brown sugar

Instructions

Apple & Spice Cupcakes

  • Line two muffin tins (this makes 20 cupcakes) with paper or foil cupcake liners. Preheat oven to 325° F.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine both sugars, oil and buttermilk and beat until well combined.
  • Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in vanilla.
  • Sift all dries together and add to egg mixture, gradually. Beat well after each addition.
  • Sprinkle chopped apples with lemon juice and fold into the cake batter.
  • Spoon batter into prepared muffing tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until center of cupcake springs back when indented with your finger or a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
  • Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. When completely cool, frost with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting.

Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Place softened butter in the bowl of your electric mixer (or a large mixing bowl if you use a hand-held beater).
  • Slowly add powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar for adjusting the frosting consistency at the end.
  • Beat in softened cream cheese until smooth. Add caramel sauce and vanilla extract and beat until well-blended.
  • If the texture is too soft for spreading, add the remaining powdered sugar, a little at a time, until you arrive at the desired spreading consistency.
  • Using a decorating bag (with the coupler) and a #824 open star decorating tip, pipe the frosting on top of the completely cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle brown sugar’d pecan pieces on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
  • Note* If you don’t have the decorating bag and tips, don’t worry … simply spread the frosting on each cupcake with an icing spatula or a butter knife!

Brown Sugared Pecans

  • Melt butter in a frying pan over medium low heat. Add pecans and toss well to coat. Add brown sugar and increase heat to medium-high. Keeping your eyes glued to the pan, cook until brown sugar is melted. Toss pecans in the melted sugar to coat. Remove from heat immediately and cool completely before sprinkling over frosting on cupcakes.

Notes

Please note the order when adding the ingredients to the frosting! The frosting will be much better for using the decorator tips, if you add the cream cheese after beating the butter and powdered sugar together first.