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Home » Desserts » Simple Recipes: Spiced Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Published: Oct 12, 2018 · Modified: Oct 29, 2020 by Karly · This post may contain affiliate links

Simple Recipes: Spiced Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

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When it comes to dessert, reach for simple recipes like these spiced apple cupcakes with caramel cream cheese frosting, and get ready to indulge in your favorite fall flavors!
Wire rack with dessert cupcakes on it, 10 visible from the front right going toward the left back and up. A bowl of applesauce is the upper left corner. Spiced Apple Cupcakes are light brown, in white, orange, and striped wrappers, with caramel cream cheese frosting on top, some with a caramel drizzle, and with a single M&M on top.There is something about autumn that makes me want to break out all the simple recipes, sweets included, and get in the kitchen all day long.

Those spicy notes wafting through the air, filling up my home with scrumptious delight, who could resist?

No one, that’s who!
Two images: on the right is a close up view of a muffin tin with paper wrappers filled with spiced apple cupcake batter. On the left is a nearly empty mixing bowl of spiced apple cupcake batter, a jug of apple juice, a container of apple sauce, a small bowl of applesauce, and an empty glass bowl.These spiced apple cupcakes are super fun because I got a little creative with the ingredients in order to get a fully-flavored cake that’s also moist.

So What’s Going On Here?

  • If you use applesauce as a binder alone, you lose the apple flavor, so in this recipe I used applesauce in addition to eggs, so that the eggs act as a binder and the applesauce acts as a flavor enhancer.
  • Apple juice is used to add moisture, as well as increase apple flavor.
  • Spices like cinammon and nutmeg are essential, but can be swapped for others like allspice and clove, or the amounts changed to suit your personal tastes.

Since I was really experimenting here, I maybe drank a glass or two of spiked apple juice, for confidence and good luck, ha!
A close up view of a muffin tin with paper liners and fully backed spiced apple cupcakes without frosting.I was very pleased with how these spiced apple cupcakes turned out, because baking is all about precision when it comes to the ingredients, and dropping the ball and creating a mess is definitely my specialty.

What Flour-Measuring Method Should I Use?

There are three methods of measuring flour that can be utilized in most any recipe out there:

  • Weight Measure: when extreme precision is required, like for macarons, pull out the scale.
  • Spoon-and-Level: generally the gold standard of measuring flour, you simply scoop out flour and plop it gently in the measuring cup, then level it off. It tends to incorporate a little less flour overall.
  • Scoop-and-Dump: this method is fairly straightforward. Just push that measuring cup into the bag of flour, shake off the excess, then dump it into the mixing bowl. This tends to add more flour than the other methods.

For this recipe, I went with the scoop-and-dump, because there is already a fairly large amount of liquids and moisture available, I felt that it would be better offset with a smidge more flour.

A close up view of a wire rack with spiced apple cupcakes on top in paper wrappers, topped with caramel cream cheese frosting. M&Ms are scattered below the rack to the right, and a bag is visible toward the back of the photo.
I could never consider these spiced apple cupcakes as complete without some caramel cream cheese frosting, which is another simple recipe that comes together in a snap! The creamy, sweet-yet-not-too-sweet frosting is the perfect complement to the delicately spiced apple-ness of the cupcakes.

Appleness? Can that be a thing? Can I make it a thing? Yes?

An angled close up view of a wire cooling rack with spiced apple cupcakes on top. Cupcakes are in paper wrappers and topped with caramel cream cheese frosting. The front cupcake has a caramel drizzle and a single M&M on top, while loose M&Ms are scattered below the wire rack to the right.

Overhead view of a wire rack, set to the right and top, with six spiced apple cupcakes fully visible, and another five running off the top and right side of the image. Cupcakes are topped with caramel cream cheese frosting and a couple have a caramel drizzle. All are topped with M&Ms and loose M&Ms are scattered to the bottom of the image and below the wire rack.

Spiced Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting by A Simple Pantry #FlavorOfFall #shop #cbias

Spiced Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

When it comes to dessert, reach for simple recipes like these spiced apple cupcakes with caramel cream cheese frosting, and get ready to indulge in your favorite fall flavors!
4.80 from 10 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Calories: 275kcal
Author: Karly Gomez

Ingredients

For The Cupcakes

  • 1 ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 ½ cup applesauce
  • ½ cup butter softened
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons apple juice
  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 24 M&Ms for topping

For The Frosting

  • 8 oz cream cheese softened
  • ¼ cup butter softened
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 16 oz powdered sugar
  • ½ cup caramel sauce
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 350 degrees, then line 24 regular-size muffin cups with paper baking cups or grease cups with shortening.
  • In large mixing bowl on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, around 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs until thoroughly incorporated, then slowly add the applesauce, apple juice, and vanilla.
  • In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, then add it to the wet ingredient in three batches, mixing until just combined.
  • Divide the batter between the muffin cups, filling them about ¾ full, and bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until light and fluffy, then slowly mix in the powdered sugar until fully incorporated. Add the caramel sauce and gently stir to combine. Frost each cupcake, then top with some M&M's and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 275kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 175mg | Potassium: 64mg | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 335IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 0.8mg
MADE THIS RECIPE?Click here to leave a comment + star rating! ★★★★★

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Originally posted: September 13, 2014. Updated: October 12, 2018

Imagery Shot With

photo-accessoriesCanon EOS 6D | Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens

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About Karly

From her childhood home in Southern Minnesota, Karly embraces the crazy of everyday life by creating delicious dishes her family and friends love, while experimenting with new flavors and techniques and photographing the results. Karly’s love for beautiful foods and joy for creating is infectious to all who meet her.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sarah Averett says

    October 17, 2018 at 10:05 pm

    5 stars
    I love the cream cheese and caramel duo. Salty and sweet is my favorite!

    Reply
  2. Jessica says

    October 17, 2018 at 8:15 pm

    5 stars
    You had me at cream cheese frosting. These are perfectly divine and just scream FALL!

    Reply
  3. GMK Khalsa says

    February 23, 2015 at 11:32 am

    3 stars
    I made these and noticed a few things that I had to change. One is that you didn’t put a vanilla measurement in your ingredients so I put in a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Also, I found that these were still raw after 15 minutes of baking so I added an additional 10 minutes. Mine didn’t rise as lovely as yours pictured but they were still good and my party guests loved them. Also, since I didn’t have caramel sauce to add to the frosting, I zested the peel of one lemon into the frosting and it was delicious.

    Reply
  4. Rosemary@anitalianinmykitchen.com says

    October 28, 2014 at 11:15 am

    Oh my gosh everything I love, including m & ms and caramel topping. Thanks for linking up at the Project Parade Linky Party #15. Rosemary

    Reply
  5. Lou Lou Girls says

    October 27, 2014 at 2:14 pm

    Hello gorgeous! What an amazing recipe. Oh Yum! Pinned. We hope to see you at our party tonight at 7 pm. It is so fun to party with you! http://loulougirls.blogspot.com/
    Happy Monday! Lou Lou Girls

    Reply
  6. Joanne T Ferguson says

    October 24, 2014 at 9:33 pm

    G’day! Great photos and yum!Thanks for sharing at our #SayGdayParty!
    Please remember to stop back if you haven’t already and say G’day to the hosts and someone else at the party!
    Cheers! Joanne @ What’s On The List Pinned!

    Reply
  7. heather @french press says

    October 22, 2014 at 10:09 pm

    thi totally screams fall, and I hear ya on the weather after a scorching summer and early fall, I love a dark and stormy day

    Reply
  8. Jill says

    October 05, 2014 at 7:25 pm

    Oh, my, yum! What a fantastic sweet treat for fall!

    Thank you for stopping by the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop this week. We hope to see you drop by our neck of the woods next week!

    Reply
  9. Laura@Baking in Pyjamas says

    October 05, 2014 at 9:22 am

    Those look really yummy, I love apple. Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!!

    Reply
  10. Erin @ Simple, Sweet & Savory says

    October 03, 2014 at 9:28 pm

    Wow, I am totally in lust with these cupcakes, And can I tell you that I think it’s freaking awesome that you topped them with candy corn M&Ms? Love it!! Pinning!

    Reply
  11. Amanda @ Adorkablii says

    September 25, 2014 at 10:38 pm

    These look super yummy!!! I am not huge into eating baked goods but I sure do love making them and I will be sure to add this to my list of ones I want to make.

    Reply
  12. Deann says

    September 25, 2014 at 10:25 am

    5 stars
    Oh my! They look so delicious! As a work at home mom, I really wanted to try baking! Do you have any recommendations on how to bake using a turbo broiler?

    Reply
  13. Joanna Sormunen says

    September 21, 2014 at 5:19 pm

    5 stars
    What a yummylicious recipe! And the pics are such a delish! These are just perfect for the season!

    Reply
  14. Ann Bacciaglia says

    September 21, 2014 at 12:07 am

    I want one of those now! The caramel cream cheese frosting sounds delicious.

    Reply
  15. Risa says

    September 20, 2014 at 10:08 pm

    They look and sound delicious! I could almost smell the spiced apples. I tend to eat my recipes while I’m making them too…

    Reply
  16. FamiGami says

    September 20, 2014 at 7:42 pm

    I love caramel and cream cheese! Put them together on a cupcake and I’m in heaven!

    Reply
  17. Danielle says

    September 20, 2014 at 6:21 pm

    I have never had apple cupcakes but I will say these look so good. I would love to try these.

    Reply
  18. Mrs. Mashed Up says

    September 20, 2014 at 6:15 pm

    Those look yummy! And guess what I just bought? Apple juice and sauce! Love the lower-sugar baking alternative!

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Karly! Welcome to A Simple Pantry, where you’ll find inspiration for any meal and every occasion with tried-and-tested recipes, step-by-step tutorials, and occasional cooking videos that help you prepare easy gourmet dishes the whole family will love.
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