Apple Cider Cupcakes

Move over apple cider donuts, apple cider cupcakes are coming to town! These cupcakes are made with reduced apple cider and rolled in cinnamon sugar, just like the orchard donuts. They’re frosted with apple cider buttercream and a drizzle of apple cider caramel sauce. You’ll never want an apple cider donut after you try these cupcakes.  

We all know October is made for apple cider donuts at the orchard with warm apple cider but I promise you, once you try these apple cider cupcakes, you’ll never crave a donut again. Lol ok, I won’t make any promises but these are seriously next level good.

I also have an apple cider donut cake recipe but between me and you, that cake has nothing on these cupcakes lol. Which makes me question if I should just test these as a layer cake too?!

Why you’ll love these cupcakes

• They’re packed full of fresh apple cider and spices, in the cupcake, in the buttercream and the caramel.
• I used ermine buttercream to really get a strong apple cider flavor infused. Ermine buttercream is not as sweet as American buttercream so it allows you to have the cupcake covered in cinnamon sugar without being WAY too sweet (of course, they’re still very sweet but I tried to tone it down). . 
• That caramel is to die for… I give you credit if you don’t lick it off the spoon. 
• I love cupcakes because they’re so easy to serve at gatherings but still so indulgent and impressive like cakes.

Ingredients

• Apple Cider: apples have a pretty subtle flavor so oftentimes you can’t taste it in desserts. To really pack an apple punch in these cupcakes, you’ll want to reduce the apple cider from 2 cups(16 ounces) down to ¾ of a cup(6 ounces). You’ll also need ¼ cup (2 ounces) of reduced apple cider for the caramel sauce so I start with 2 ½ – 3  cups (20-24 ounces) of apple cider and reduce it down to 1 cup (8 ounces), splitting it between the two.
  • I only reduced the apple cider for the cupcake and the caramel portion. I found that the flavor was subtle but noticeable enough when not reduced in the buttercream. HOWEVER, you can reduce the apple cider for that as well if you want a stronger flavor. 
  • You’ll need ¾ cup (6 ounces)  for the buttercream as well. So if you want to reduce the cider for that, do a total of 3 ½ – 4 cups (28 – 32 ounces) of apple cider and reduce it down to 1 ¾ cups (or 2 cups to be safe and have a little extra) (14-16 ounces). 
• Flour: I use all purpose flour in most of my recipes and I HIGHLY recommend using a digital scale, as flour is so often over measured. 
• Baking Powder and Soda: We’re going to need both here to balance some of the acidity from the apples and brown sugar.
• Sugar: I used just light brown sugar. You can also do half dark brown sugar and granulated sugar to make the light brown sugar. 
• Oil: I used oil in this recipe to get a soft spongy texture. I recommend any neutral oil like vegetable, canola, grapeseed or sunflower oil. 
• Eggs: use room temperature, large eggs.
  • Pop them in hot water for a few minutes if they’re cold.
• Spices: for apple recipes, I generally just do cinnamon and a little bit of nutmeg. 
• Salt: salt brings out the flavors and cuts the sweetness a bit. I recommend fine sea salt. 
• Vanilla: I like to use vanilla extract in the cupcake and vanilla bean paste in the buttercream and the caramel sauce. 

How to make apple cider cupcakes

STEP 1: Reduce the apple cider by simmering it on the stove top in a pot for 10-20 minutes on low heat. 

STEP 2:  Start with the caramel sauce because it takes the longest to cool. Make my homemade salted caramel sauce but instead of adding ½ cup of heavy cream, add only ¼ cup of heavy cream and ¼ cup of reduced apple cider. 

STEP 3: Start the buttercream by cooking the apple cider, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a saucepan on the stovetop until it thickens like a custard. Cover and set it aside to chill. 

STEP 4: Start the cupcakes by combining the flour, brown sugar, spices, salt, baking powder and salt. 

STEP 5: Whisk in the oil and egg until they’re well combined. The mixture will be kind of chunky and hard to mix with a whisk. Feel free to use a hand mixer or a stand mixer as well. 

STEP 6: Add the reduced apple cider, whisking just until the mixture is completely smooth. Bake in 12 lined cupcake tins. Allow them to cool before removing the lining and rolling in cinnamon sugar. The cinnamon sugar should stick to the grooves on the cupcakes left from the cupcake liners. 

STEP 7: Finish the buttercream by beating the butter until it’s really fluffy. Then add the chilled custard that we made, mixing until it’s smooth and fluffy. Pipe onto the cupcakes. 

STEP 8: Top with caramel; make sure the caramel sauce has chilled so it’s thick enough not to run off the cupcakes.

How to store cupcakes

These apple cider cupcakes store well at a cool room temperature for 1-2 days. I recommend keeping them in an airtight container and then refrigerating for up to a week.

How to freeze cupcakes

Bakes stay way more fresh when they’re frozen. You can place them in an airtight container and freeze for up to a couple of months. Bring back to room temperature before serving. 

Thanks so much for reading today’s post, if you have any questions just comment down below. Make sure to leave it in the comment section because I can’t answer in the rating section :).

If you make this apple cider cupcake recipe I would love to see it so make sure to tag me @baranbakery on instagram! 

If you loved this recipe, make sure to leave me a star rating below as well 🙂

As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!

Love, B