Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Source of Recipe
"A Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes" by Dede Wilson
Recipe Introduction
These cupcakes could be a twist on a tradition dessert offering - instead of an apple pie. Because the streusel and caramel are sweet, it's best to use tart apples, such as Granny Smith, to balance out the flavors.
List of Ingredients
2/3 cup peeled and diced Granny Smith apples
2/3 cup walnut halves, toasted and chopped
1 batch batter and streusel from Crumb Cake Cupcakes, prepared without fruit or nuts
18 caramel candies
Recipe
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place paper liners in all wells of one 12-cup and one 6-cup cupcake tins.
Fold the chopped apples and walnuts into the plain cupcake batter. Fill each paper liner about one-quarter of the way full with batter. Top with a bit of streusel, then fill with remaining batter. Top with remaining streusel. Bake for about 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center shows a few moist crumbs. Cool pans on racks for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes to cool completely.
Melt caramels in top of double boiler or in microwave. Drizzle caramel over tops of cooled cupcakes using a fork or teaspoon. Cupcakes are now ready to serve.
************The crumb cake cupcake master recipe is the basis for a seasonal Caramel Apple Cupcake, which could well dress up a Thanksgiving table. The sour cream makes a very moist coffeecake; the recipe works well with the addition of fruit or nuts, or just as a plain spiced version.
"If you use frozen berries," Wilson writes, "there is no need to defrost them before adding them to the batter." The cupcakes will keep for about 2 days at room temperature in an airtight container.
Master recipe: Crumb Cake Cupcakes Streusel:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries, or 1½ cups nuts, toasted and finely chopped (try walnuts, pecans, and/or almonds; see note)
To make the streusel, in a large bowl stir together melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extracts and salt until well combined. Stir in flour until smooth. Mixture should clumb and form "crumbs" when squeezed between fingertips. Set aside.
To make the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350 F. Place paper liners in all wells of one 12-cup and one 6-cup baking tin.
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl to aerate and combine; set aside.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Beat in extracts. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down after each addition, allowing each egg to be absorbed before continuing. Add the flour mixture in 4 additions, alternately with the sour cream. Begin and end with the flour mixture, stopping when there are still a few streaks of flour. Fold in the fruit and/or nuts, if using, until just combined.
Divide batter evenly among cupcake wells. Place a generous amount of streusel on top of each cupcake, using your fingers to compress it into crumbs and to scatter it evenly. Bake for about 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center shows a few moist crumbs.
Cool pans on racks for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes to cooling racks to cool completely.
Makes 18 cupcakes.
Note: To toast nuts, spread in a single layer on a jellyroll pan and toast in a 350 F oven until fragrant and just beginning to color, about 5 to 10 minutes. Shake the pan once or twice during toasting to ensure even browning.
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