No need to whip up an entire pie now because these apple pie cupcakes with a crispy topping fulfill all those apple pie cravings!
The photos and recipe for these apple pie cupcakes with a crispy topping have been updated as of May 14th, 2016!
I absolutely love food blogging and sharing my recipes with everyone, but sometimes I wonder how other food bloggers do it. I only have one child and yet it seems like my hours are limited. We spend the day outside, we cook together, we clean up, and yet my house is still a write-off at the end of the day and I am left with little to no time to even consider writing up a post. How do you women manage with more than one child AND go about your day while writing a blog?! Ahhhh!
Then again, the only "bad" part at the end of the day is that I have a ton of recipes that need to be shared but nothing prepared on the blog. This means I have recipes I created months ago but have not had the time to share them. Like today's recipe. These apple pie cupcakes were created exactly one month ago today. I am that behind. Heck, I even made a spinach cake for my best friend's birthday and I have not even shared that! The spinach cake recipe is now up! Mr. TCW's coworkers think when he brings in my baked goods that I will be posting the recipe the following day on the blog, but as these apple pie cupcakes show, that is not the case. Then I start looking at the photos and judging myself, and before you know it I am throwing away the photos and reminding myself to recreate the dish for a better shot. Sigh, the life of a food blogger!
Whining aside, I really enjoy the work I do. And I know my family is not complaining with all the meals and baked goods. My daughter actually turns down dessert at times because I make cupcakes and cakes so often! However, like her mother, chocolate is always good in her books! With these apple pie cupcakes, I was looking to do something traditional and nontraditional. Apple pie is a classic, but I was in no mood to make a crust. The idea hit me to make apple pie cupcakes when I said to my daughter "we make too many chocolate and vanilla cakes." It is hard to break away from the basics, but generally chocolate and vanilla pleases 90% of the crowd. So push those reservations aside and give these apple pie cupcakes a try! I personally thought they were fantastic without the buttercream, but they looked so lonely without anything on top, haha.
📖 Recipe
Apple Pie Cupcakes with a Crispy Topping
The topping can be as sweet as you desire by adding more sugar. The cupcakes can also be made with or without buttercream.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cake flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups apple sauce
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. ground ginger
- ½ tsp. nutmeg
Filling
- 2 large apples, cored and cubed
- 1 tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. butter
- Pinch of salt
- ¼ tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. all-purpose flour
Topping
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- ½ cup old-fashioned oats
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp. brown sugar
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ cup raisins
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- 1 batch of brown sugar Swiss meringue buttercream (optional)
Instructions
Filling
- Heat butter in a small saute pan over medium heat. Once melted, stir in sugar, salt, cinnamon, and apples. Stir constantly until apples are tender, about 4 minutes. Mix in flour and cook for another minute or two. Remove from heat and cool.
Topping
- Combine all the topping ingredients into a bowl and mix until well combined.
Batter
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy, about 5 min. Beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure to combine well before adding the next. Add vanilla and applesauce: mix well.
- Sift together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.
- With the mixer on low, add in the flour mixture and buttermilk alternatively, always starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners. Add a bit of batter to the bottom of each liner, maybe ⅓ of the way. Evenly place the filling into each liner. Top with remaining batter. This should make about 24 cupcakes. Spread out the topping onto each cupcake.
- Place tray into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly in tray and then move cupcakes to wire rack to finish cooling.
- Decorate with buttercream if desired and top with additional sauteed apples!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 341Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 69mgSodium: 335mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 2gSugar: 23gProtein: 6g
For those of you who make your own pie filling to can, this recipe would be perfect for you as your already have the filling made. And if you omit the buttercream, these apple pie cupcakes are fast and easy! I personally love taking the time to decorate and manipulate cupcakes and cakes, but I know others do not. I am trying so hard to post easy recipes, but I am that person who will literally spend all day in her kitchen. Maybe that is why I have no time at the end of the day...
Love these apple pie cupcakes with a crispy topping?! Try some of these recipes:
Skillet Apple Cake with Cinnamon Oat Topping
Kathryn @ FoodieGirlChicago
I'm a huge apple pie fan and always love unique cupcakes so this is definitely on my "need to make" list!
Kacey
Glad I could help 🙂 I need more unique cupcakes in my life.
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables
Ahhhh can I just have a whole bowl of the topping?? haha my husband loves apple pie so this would be perfect!
Kacey
Thanks, Liz!
Sabrina @ Dinner, then Dessert
I do most of my cooking on the weekends when my husband is home to take over with the kids. Marathon cooking sessions, and photo sessions. Scribble recipe notes as I go. Then I edit and post during the week after bedtime 🙂
Kacey
You sound exactly like me (soooo many scribbled notes I have to get online!) Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ashley | The Recipe Rebel
Haha, it is a struggle! Makes for busy days for sure 🙂 I love apple pie anything -- these look great!
Kacey
Thanks, Ashley!
Stephanie @ Back for Seconds
Yep. With baby #5 on the way it is getting harder and harder to manage the blog. But you are doing GREAT! Now pass me a cupcake 🙂
Kacey
Haha, Stephanie, I want to say you are crazy but I am too envious!
Nora @ Savory Nothings
Uhm, I always feel SO bad when I complain about my lack of time for blogging with just one child! And I also have made and shot about a dozen recipes I finally decided to add to the pile of stuff I never blogged about!
I'm so glad you decided to share these cupcakes though, they look so incredibly good!
Kacey
I am beginning to see food bloggers are all the same! We all manage in our own ways 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Joanie @ ZagLeft
It's hard to keep up sometimes. Even though I only have one child at home (my others are off at college and working), it's hard to get it all done. You just do what you can and enjoy your time with your daugher, they grow up way too fast. Your recipes look wonderful and your pictures are beautiful - and these cupcakes sound completely delicious!
Kacey
Thank you so much, Joanie. She means the world to me and I want to spend all my time with her 🙂
Beth
Kacey, you are a super mom! I am pretty much busy all of the time, going from my day job to blogging on nights and weekends. We don't have any kiddos yet, so I am not really sure how that will work in the future. I am usually 3-4 weeks behind, which sometimes I like because than I am not pressured to make something today to post tomorrow. Keep at it friend!
Kacey
You are so kind, Beth! You are one of my biggest inspirations (and make blogging look so easy!)
Michelle | A Latte Food
These cupcakes look amazing! I love apple anything, but in cupcakes?! I am so sold!
Kacey
I am glad I went for cupcakes over apple pie 🙂
Katie @ Recipe for Perfection
Mmm... brilliant! This is exactly my kind of dessert. I love apple anything, really! And I know exactly what you mean about it being impossible to get a whole lot of blogging done under the circumstances. 🙂 But you should pat yourself on the back, because it looks like you're doing a really nice job of it.
Kacey
After all the stressing (and complaining, haha) I feel like I am doing a pretty darn good job! Thanks, Katie!
Gwen @simplyhealthyfamily
most days I'm not sure how or why I do it!! I have 4 kids & a 3-4 day a week job as a surgical assist. I feel guilty A Lot when I'm blogging but then I remind myself that I love doing it (even if I can't put enough time to make real $$ doing it) & that's it's important to have a hobby where I can express myself. I should be photo editing & writing right now but I'm watching Cheaper by the Dozen for the 10 time w the boogers. 😉
Kacey
You are wonder woman! I am right there with you; I love blogging as a hobby and it keeps me sane 🙂
Ashlyn @ Belle of the Kitchen
YUMMMM! Apple Pie in cupcake form?! LOVE it! And girl, I find myself wondering the same thing about our bloggy friends. Blogging is a hard job, but at least we get rewarded with delicious food at the end of the day. 😉
Kacey
You have that right, Ashlyn! And my husband does love all the food... 🙂
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious
So I have your permission to eat those for breakfast, right?
Kacey
We are all friends here, Dorothy! No judging 🙂