Apples and cinnamon, cinnamon and apples…then you have brown sugar, mmmmmm what great combinations.  I’m so ready for fall baking!  Don’t get me wrong, I love grilling in the summer, but to be honest with you, here in Florida we grill all year-long.   I know, I know, I’m getting away from baking, but like i said, I’m soooo ready for fall baking.  To be honest with you, it doesn’t matter what time of year is it for baking with apples, I usually have them in the fridge all year-long anyway, especially granny smith apples.  The is a great recipe for apple cupcake, but you can certainly bake a cake with this recip.e

To be honest with you, I can not remember what icing I used with this recipe!  I’ll post a great caramel icing recipe, but I’m not sure what the icing is I used on this cupcake.  There are times I will take pictures of things I bake, then have to go back to find the recipe that goes with the cake!  It’s so easy to do when you bake as much as I do and not always having the time to post the recipe.  I do think you will enjoy this cupcake as much as the icing, even if it’s not the recipe I used in this photo.

Happy Cupcake Baking! 

Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated apples**

Caramel Balls (sold in packages at grocery stores)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease or line a 12 cup muffin pan.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and sugars until creamy. Beat in the orange juice, vanilla, and vegetable oil. Slowly add the flour mixture, mix until just combined. Stir in the grated apples. Bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Cool completely before frosting.

**Bakers Note – I prefer to use a mix of sweet and sour apples.  For my latest batch I used a mix of Granny Smith and Macintosh.

Caramel Buttercream
recipe slightly adapted from Martha Stewart

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
4 large egg whites, room temperature
2 teaspoons  vanilla extract

Bring 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Wash sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until caramel is dark amber. Immediately remove from heat, and slowly add cream, salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth. Let cool.

Beat butter with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

Place whites and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a heat-proof mixer bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture registers 160 degrees on a candy thermometer.  Remove from heat, and attach bowl to a mixer. Whisk on medium speed for 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high, and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 6 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, and add beaten butter, cup at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in vanilla.   Switch to paddle attachment. With mixer on low-speed, add caramel, and beat until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes.

* Ice cupcakes and sprinkle on caramel balls.