These Cinnamon Maple Apple Cupcakes are a rendition of an apple cinnamon cake and a maple cake combined into one. It’s perfect to share with friends and family during this holiday season! Christmas is right around the corner, and I think this recipe would be fun to make with your family for a holiday activity.
Our other popular fall recipes are Pumpkin Spiced Latte Cupcakes & Brown Butter Cake & Pumpkin Spiced Buttercream
This recipe uses oil, a brown sugar/white sugar combination, and a robust Grade A maple syrup that sweetens these Cinnamon Maple Apple Cupcakes to perfection!
Some of my favorite toppings with these cupcakes are be hazelnuts, walnuts, caramel sauce, cinnamon, or apple slices. Not to mention, you can cut out a hole in the middle of the cupcakes and fill it with caramel to have a nice sweet surprise with each bite.
BUTTERCREAM TIPS
- Beat the butter first until it becomes fluffy, then add powdered sugar in small chunks.
- using softened butter is best
- Use milk or heavy cream
- heavy cream will help you get that thick, creamy texture, while milk will give you a fluffier texture.
- add your milk or cream slowly. you can always add more, but you can never take the milk out.
- Add vanilla extract (or any other flavored extract)
- this brings extra flavors and added sweetness to your buttercream
- Cover the bowl with a towel while mixing
- there are many times I’ve had powdered sugar flying everywhere when adding it to the mixer because it wasn’t covered
- The spatula test!
- this is a quick way to confirm that your frosting is the perfect consistency
- press a spatula into your frosting and pull it up.
- the frosting should be a stiff peak with a slight curl on the end
- if it’s too stiff add more milk, if it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar (1/3 cup at a time)
There’s nothing more satisfying than putting buttercream into a piping bag and letting your creative mind flow when you’re decorating these cupcakes.
Of course we couldn’t just use regular buttercream. We added dabs of cinnamon & it instantly added rich flavors to this classic buttercream recipe!
Now let’s get baking!
Maple Apple Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream
INGREDIENTS
Cupcakes
- 1½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup maple syrup Grade A, dark
- 2 tso vanilla extract
- 1 honeycrisp apple medium, diced
Cinnamon Buttercream
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ tbsp milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
INSTRUCTIONS
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, + cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, beat vegetable oil + sugar together until combined. Slowly add in eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Add maple syrup, sour cream, and vanilla extract and beat on medium.
- Add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, and mix until all combined. Lastly, add the diced apple and mix well.
- Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Pour batter 1/2 way into the cupcake liners.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cinnamon Buttercream
- In a large bowl, beat softened butter for about 2-3 minutes on medium speed or until it's slightly fluffy. Add in powdered sugar (I did 1/3-1/2 cups at a time) and beat on medium speed.
- Add in milk and beat until combined. Lastly, add cinnamon and vanilla, beat until fully mixed.
- Add buttercream to piping bag with a tip attached (I used Wilton #18) + frost your cupcakes!
- Top off cupcakes with a caramel sauce, more cinnamon, or nuts!
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