Sweet spiced apple cupcakes paired with a tart cranberry buttercream. Two fall flavors in one mini cupcake bite! With just a few special ingredients you can have some extraordinary cupcakes!
Before I forget… go say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my baby sister. š How convenient that I’m posting a cupcake recipe today, huh? Here we are 25 years ago! Aww.
The best things come in small packages, I think [see above?!], and mini cupcakes and muffins are no exception. They’re pretty much my favorite things ever! I hadn’t made mini cupcakes in wayyy too long, so when Coleen of The Redhead Baker announced her celebration of cupcakes this fall, I KNEW mini cupcakes would be my contribution. And after much deliberation, I decided to make apple cupcakes. But what to top them with?
One of my Nashville friends has her own baking business and recently brought some sample cupcakes to our Bible study. She toppedĀ herĀ apple cupcakes with a salted caramel buttercream, which was delicious, but I didn’t want to be a copycat. š Cinnamon buttercream also sounded good too, but then my favorite applesauce variation came to mind. Ben and IĀ love swirling cranberry sauce into homemade applesauce, so I thought a nice tart cranberry buttercream may be the way to go. And ohhh my–it is!
MultipleĀ strong, overly sweet flavors don’t always work for cupcakes in my book. So I like to keep either the cake or the frosting on the simple side, and really play up the other. The cake portion of these cupcakes are just a subtle, spiced apple flavor. I grated the apples to add some texture and fresh apple. I normally love small chunks of apple in cake and muffins, but the grated texture works better in mini cupcakes, imo. Then the frosting. Ohhh the frosting!
The cranberry buttercream is stunning, isn’t it? It’s naturally that bright, bold shade of pink, and each bite is better than the last. This buttercream is sweet, with a fantastic cranberry-y tart aftertaste. Good thing this recipe makes a ton of buttercream… enough to keep in your fridge for a late night snack. š Seeing these pink seasonal cupcakes just makes me so happy! I wish I could bring some to share with you in real life today. Enjoy!
Thanks for organizing this celebration of cupcakes, Coleen! Be sure to scroll down below the recipe to see lots of yummy cupcake recipes. Have a great Monday!!
four years ago: Cheddar Black Pepper Biscuits
Mini Apple Cupcakes with Cranberry Buttercream
Ingredients:
for apple cupcakesĀ from Chow
- 1 1/2 cups shredded apples [2 medium Gala apples]
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour [156 1/4 grams]
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 3 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
for cranberry buttercreamĀ from Baker By Nature
- 2 cups cranberries
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Begin by shredding the apples with a box grater or food processor. Then press apples through a fine mesh sieve to drain as much juice out as possible.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line mini cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. With a mixer, beat butter for 2 minutes until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla and beat for another two minutes. Add egg and buttermilk, then beat for another minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl, add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Then, fold in apples.
Spoon batter into prepared pans, filling just below the top of the cup.
Bake for 14-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean. Cool completely before frosting.
While cupcakes are baking, prepare buttercream.Ā Begin by placing cranberries and lemon juice in a saucepan. Simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, until cranberries pop and can be mashed easily. Mixture will look like a thick cranberry jam. Remove from heat, and working in batches, press mixture through a fine mesh sieve to separate the puree from the seeds/skin. This may be time consuming but is worth it. Cover and refrigerate puree to chill.
When ready to frost cupcakes, beat butter on medium-high for 2 minutes, until very smooth. Add in cold cranberry puree and beat for another minute until fully combined. Add powdered sugar, cup by cup and beat until desired thickness is achieved. I used about 4 cups. Stir in vanilla, then pipe or frost as desired.
Pssst! Look at all these other delicious cupcake recipes that my friends made for Cupcake Day! Mmm!
- Hot Cocoa Cupcakes by The Redhead Baker
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes by The Cooking Actress
- Vanilla Candy Cane Cupcakes by Noshing With The Nolands
- Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Nerds Cupcakes by Amy’s Confectionery Adventures
- Vegan Midori Melon Cupcakes by NinjaBaker
- Chocolate Bourbon Cupcakes with Candied Butter Pecan Frosting by From Gate to Plate
- Dark Chocolate Rum Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream by Lemony Thyme
- Gingerbread cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting by Eva Bakes
- Cranberry Apple Cupcakes by The Pajama Chef
- Almond Joy Cupcakes by Our Eating Habits
- Buttered Rum Cupcakes by Adventures in All Things Food
- Maple Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Cone Head Cupcakes with Ice Cream Frosting by The Spiffy Cookie
- Candied Buddha’s Hand-Eggnog Cupcakes by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Almond Joy Cupcakes by Food Lust People Love
- Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting by Sew You Think You Can Cook
- Chocolate Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting for 2 by Kate’s Recipe Box
- Cranberry Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream by Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Peppermint Patty Cupcakes by Comfortably Domestic
- Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Biscoff Marshmallow Buttercream by Making Miracles
- Chocolate Cupcakes with Red Velvet Frosting by {i love} my disorganized life
- Lemon Cupcakes by Miss Information
- Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cupcakes by Kosher Kitchen
- Peppermint Cream Cookie Cupcakes by Take a Bite out of Boca
- Cupcake Christmas Wreath by Lick the Spoon
The Pajama Chef 
Oh these look good!! What a great idea to do cranberries with Apple!!
LikeLike
thanks, zainab!
LikeLike
Awwww. Love the pic of you and your baby pictures. That frosting IS stunning. So gorgeous!
LikeLike
thanks, karen! š
LikeLike
Ooh, these sound SO lovely – what a great combination of winter flavors! Such a pretty color on that frosting. I’d love one right now!
LikeLike
thanks, amy! š
LikeLike
I love that these are a double celebration of fall!! Also happy birthday to your sister!
LikeLike
thanks, joanne!
LikeLike
Thanks for the birthday shout out!! š Also these sound delish. I love the cran-apple combo!
LikeLike
thanks boo! š
LikeLike
The color on that frosting is absolutely gorgeous. And love the flavors, yum!
LikeLike
thank you! i was so happy with the color of the icing! š
LikeLike
Apple and cranberry- sounds like a great combination!
LikeLike
thank you, rachel!
LikeLike
These cupcakes sound absolutely amazing. And cranberry and apple are a great combination (I’ve got a cranberry applesauce posting tomorrow morning!). The color of that frosting is incredible too.
LikeLike
i made cranberry applesauce a few years ago ALL the time! i may have to do that again with the leftover cranberries i have š
LikeLike