This post chronologically follows the Brie, Arugula and Apple Quesadilla post. Baking with only 2 cups of apples might not have been what mom had in mind when I offered to help her put to use her abundance of fruit, but these were some pretty tasty cupcakes.
After eating the amazing caramel apple cupcake in Austin, I was pretty attached to creating a similar homemade version of the cupcakes myself. I was so glad when Annalisa agreed it was one of her top choices from my long list of apple recipes I found online from BakedPerfection.com.
**Our notes first: We used a combination of apples, though we aren't sure which varieties it was. We ended up with more than 24 cupcakes, and used another 6 full sized and a handful of mini cupcakes to finish off the batter. We did double the caramel recipe as she recommend, and do have leftovers in the fridge.
Apple Cupcakesrecipe from Baked Perfection
makes 24 cupcakes
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 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
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 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.
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 heatproof 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.
**Bakers Note - When I made the caramel I doubled the recipe and used the leftover to drizzle caramel over the cupcakes. You will still have some leftover which is great on ice cream!
After eating the amazing caramel apple cupcake in Austin, I was pretty attached to creating a similar homemade version of the cupcakes myself. I was so glad when Annalisa agreed it was one of her top choices from my long list of apple recipes I found online from BakedPerfection.com.
We were a good baking team, and the weather was a perfect overcast fall day, when the only thing you can really do is bake and drink tea. The cupcake recipe was pretty straight forward, and as you can imagine, adding 2 cups of real apples into the batter created a very moist and fluffy cake.
The biggest issue we had with the recipe was the caramel. A couple weeks back, when we had made the caramel for our caramel apple crostata, sorry no blog post for that (pictured below). It turned out perfectly, smooth, dark and creamy. This recipe however, must not have been as thorough as the one we used for the crostata, which is unfortunately lost in the world wide web. While we did follow directions, Jack explained to me later that evening (while sampling the treat), that the caramel has to reach the right temperature, for long enough that it caramelizes, otherwise it's grainy and light colored like this version turned out, and not really caramel. My advice, keep the caramel on the stove until it truly reaches "amber". In good news, the caramel didn't get in the way from the cupcakes tasting delicious. A brief pause for you to see the successful caramel we'd made previously, drizzled over our crostata.
Another note about this recipe was that the frosting used 3 sticks of butter. Yes, you read that correctly. Personally, I love butter. I also completely neglected to buy unsalted butter, so the frosting was salty, salted caramel. It was a bit much for Annalisa, so if you're not as salt lover, make sure to buy unsalted butter for the frosting, per the recipe. Otherwise, enjoy, this is one tasty cupcake!
Apple Cupcakesrecipe from Baked Perfection
makes 24 cupcakes
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 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
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 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.
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 heatproof 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.
**Bakers Note - When I made the caramel I doubled the recipe and used the leftover to drizzle caramel over the cupcakes. You will still have some leftover which is great on ice cream!
via cooking with a stud, http://www.cookingwithastud.com/2013/10/apple-cupcakes-with-salted-caramel.html
Put the internet to work for you.
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