So excited to share these spring inspired apple cupcakes made with chunks of fresh apples, lemon and ginger. A moist cupcake topped with apple frosting so there's apple flavor in every bite. Because you should eat apples all year long!
This Recipe is Sponsored by Starr Ranch Growers and JUICI Apples. All thoughts and text are my own. Thank you for supporting the companies that help make Two Cups Flour possible.
For a spring cupcake I decided to change the common apple cake additives of fall spices and lots of brown sugar. I wanted to make a lighter flavor profile for warm weather parties. Lemon and ginger are one of my favorite combos, which add just enough zing to fresh apples. The cream cheese in the frosting creates a softer texture that pairs so nicely with the moist cake base.
To create this recipe I partnered with Starr Ranch Growers to showcase their delicious JUICI apple. A softer skin apple that still maintains a great crunch that makes it versatile for all types of baking or cooking. JUICI apples are a gorgeous marbled red color and offer a flavor note similar to the honey crisp apple. No need to peel these beauties, the skin not only tastes great, but breaks down just enough to make them easy to chew.
Based in Washington, Starr Ranch Growers, is a group of multi-generational farming families who raise premium, wholesome conventional and organic fruit. As the exclusive grower for this modern apple variety, I am so honored to have the opportunity to test them in a bunch of new tasty bakes.
Cupcake Ingredients
- Apples: JUICI apples don't need to be peeled for this recipe. Just remove the stem and core, then dice them into small chunks.
- Lemon and Ginger: A lighter but zingy combo for spring baking that pairs nicely with fresh apples and little vanilla.
- Unsalted Butter : Butter is a great flavor enhancer and I always choose unsalted so I can adjust my salt taste.
- Granulated Sugar: This recipe uses regular granulated sugar instead of a combo with brown sugar mostly used for fall baking. I chose to avoid any nutty notes for these citrus flavored cupcakes.
- Sour Cream : The use of sour cream thickens the cupcake batter to help keep the apples from sinking to the bottom while baking. It also adds a great bit of moisture to the cake itself.
Tips for Making Cupcakes
- Keep your butter, sour cream, and eggs at room temperature for the cupcake batter. Don't over mix the batter.
- Chop the apple into small chunks about the size of a green pea. Too big and they won't allow the cupcake to rise properly.
- Measure the cupcake batter to fill each liner ¾ cup full. It will be a thick chunky batter and not all of the cupcakes will be perfectly smooth on top do to the apple chunks. But, who cares, we are adding frosting and they taste great!
- Choose small edible flowers with a light citrus taste. I chose pansies for their unique color design and soft sweet flavor.
Apple Frosting Ingredients
- Apples: A quick apple puree with pieces of apple left intact adds more apple flavor to the cupcake frosting.
- Unsalted Butter : Butter is the base for buttercream frosting, it adds flavor and structure.
- Cream Cheese: I've added cream cheese to create a lighter textured cake frosting.
- Confectioner's Sugar : To add sweetness and thicken the frosting I use confectioner's sugar for the majority of my American buttercream recipes. This can be a bit too sweet for some, so make sure to add a little salt to help balance the sugar ratio.
Tips for Apple Buttercream Frosting
- Prepare the apple puree and allow it to completely cool. It should measure about ⅓ cup or a little more once you have pulsed it into a chunky apple sauce consistency.
- Don't blend the puree totally smooth, the little apple chunks are the best part!
- Make sure cream cheese and butter are at room temperature.
- Since we're adding confectioner's sugar, a little sea salt helps to balance the sweetness.
- Using cream cheese creates a softer frosting compared to straight buttercream. It will hold its shape once piped since the frosting is still mostly butter based.
- Add enough confectioner's sugar a cup at a time until its thick enough to pipe. If you accidentally make it too thick, add a tablespoon of milk or heavy cream and beat again.
How to Store Cupcakes
Like most everything I prefer to eat my desserts within the first two days of making them for the best flavor and texture. Frosted and unfrosted cupcakes can be stored at room temperature for 5-7 days. Refrigerating them can cause a more dense texture to the cake crumb.
More Apple Recipes To Try:
Apple Cupcakes
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) and line 12 capacity cupcake pan with paper liners.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ginger in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of stand mixer using a paddle attachment on medium speed or a large bowl using a hand held mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Add the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla, then mix again until incorporated.
- Spoon in flour mixture and mix until smooth. Scrape bottom and side of bowl as needed.
- Fold in apple chunks with a rubber spatula.
- Divide batter evenly between the 12 cupcake cups.
- Place tray on center of middle rack and back for 22-24 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
- Place tin on wire rack and allow cupcakes to completely cool before frosting.
- First, prepare an apple puree to mix into the frosting.
- Place apple chunks, lemon juice, light brown sugar, and ginger in a medium skillet on medium heat.
- Using a rubber spatula, slowly stir apples while cooking 4-5 minutes until softened, but not mushy.
- Transfer apple mixture to a food processor or blender and pulse just enough to chop into small shreds but still remain slightly chunky. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment or using a hand held mixer and a large bowl whip cream cheese and butter until fluffy.
- Add vanilla and 1 cup of confectioner's sugar, whipping until smooth. Add an additional cup of confectioner's sugar until desired thickness is reached.
- Add apple puree and mix again to incorporate.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag with desired tip. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes and top with edible flowers to serve.
Christina
I made these a few times during the holidays and will tab this as a go to recipe. I impressed my pastry chef friend as well as her kid. The apples and sour cream together make the other spices stand out. I didn’t have vanilla bean paste so I just used extract. I bet it would be even better with the ingredients listed.