Next to peanut butter, caramel is my favorite…um, topping? I almost called it a food group but that can’t be right. Caramel apples remind me of both summer and fall. Summer because we would eat candy apples and caramel apples at the local fair. And fall because that is when apples are most commonly picked and when they are the best to eat. Caramel is good all year round, yes, indeed.
Thank you Pip & Ebby for bringing us the perfect fall cupcake.
Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs at room temperature
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 lb tart apples, peeled and shredded (this equals approximately 2 ½ apples)
Topping
1 ½ cups caramels or caramel bits
1 Tablespoon heavy cream
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with baking liners. In a large bowl, mix
together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
2. In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, vegetable oil and vanilla.
Stir into flour mixture until just combined. Stir in apples.
3. Spoon batter into baking liners until almost full. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 min, or
until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool.
4. In a small, microwavable bowl, combine caramels and cream. Microwave for one minute.
Stir and repeat in 30-second intervals until melted and smooth. Spread caramel topping
generously onto cooled cupcakes.
