All the flavors of a caramel apple in a moist, fluffy, generously frosted cupcake. I’ll take 10 please! These cupcakes are fabulous to say the least. My husband said they were his favorite cupcakes ever, so I guess they must be pretty good. I will admit coming up with cupcake recipes is no easy task. My first recipe attempt wasn’t what I was looking for so I made a few alterations, such as reducing the sugar and butter slightly, omitting baking powder, and adding lemon juice to help imitate the slight tartness of a caramel apple (I may even add more next time). I also used coarsely grated apples the first time around and found I didn’t like the texture. They seemed to make the cupcake too heavy as well so I went with the finer grate the second time around and it made a world of difference.
Salted Caramel Apple Cupcakes
If you like caramel apples this is definitely a recipe you’re not going to want to let this Fall season go by without making. If you aren’t a fan of salted caramel feel free to omit the sea salt. If you want to make them extra fancy you could add some vanilla bean seeds to the caramel sauce or the frosting. And for an added crunch you could sprinkle them with chopped pecans or walnuts. Be sure to be careful when making the caramel as you are working with boiling hot melted sugar here. Also really pay attention to its color while it boils as it will go through stages. Through the clear, the light golden, to golden orange, then amber and at last the dark amber. Be sure to allow it to become dark enough in color but also making sure it doesn’t become too dark. It’s color is key. If it is under cooked or over cooked the caramel wont be the right consistency and wont have the right flavor. When it’s too dark it is burned and tastes bitter. When it’s under cooked it will taste more like butter and sugar than caramel and it will be too runny. I absolutely love homemade caramel sauce. Once you make it at home you’ll have a really hard time buying the stuff at the store (that’s made from mostly corn syrup). The homemade caramel sauce is the crowning jewel of these cupcakes. Enjoy!
