These spiced Apple Cupcakes are made with brown sugar, apple butter, and apple pie spice for a wonderful blend of cozy and comforting fall flavor. Then, they’re topped with my new favorite buttercream frosting – a fluffy and creamy miso caramel frosting along with an extra drizzle of miso caramel to bring you that caramel apple vibe!
I originally made these caramel apple cupcakes back in 2014, over 10 years ago! 😱This recipe has been long overdue for an update and a few upgrades too. The biggest upgrade has to be the luxurious caramel frosting replacing a dulce de leche cream cheese frosting that readers didn’t love. I also added apple pie spice to the batter for even more autumn flavor.
Trang’s Recipe Highlights
- FLAVOR: These apple cupcakes are not too sweet, filled with warm spices, and topped with a deeply caramelized frosting and caramel drizzle that bring a surprising hint of umami.
- TEXTURE: Soft and tender crumb, balanced by a fluffy, creamy frosting and sticky caramel finish.
- EASE: Straightforward to make with simple steps, no mixer required for the batter, yet impressive enough to wow a crowd. Guaranteed!
So what do I need to make these caramel apple cupcakes?
You’ll need 11 ingredients for the cupcake batter, pictured below. As always, you can find the full list of ingredients with quantities and step-by-step instructions in the recipe card.
Some notes on spiced apple butter
Like I mentioned, I upgraded these cupcakes with homemade apple butter. My apple butter is already flavored with apple pie spice but because we’re only using a small amount in the batter, adding another teaspoon of apple pie spice enhances the flavor further. 👌 You could also just use cinnamon.
Apple butter is actually kind of difficult to find during the year. I have only seen it in stores at Albertson year round. But other than that you’ll likely need to buy it online if you’re making this recipe out of season. Further into fall season, I think more retailers start to stock apple butter on their shelves, making it a little bit easier to find.
For the frosting
The miso caramel frosting only takes 3 ingredients if you have homemade miso caramel on hand. I didn’t need a full recipe for these cupcakes because of the way the frosting rings are formed, so I reduced the amount a bit to minimize waste, see recipe card.
Miso caramel substitution
If you don’t want to make miso caramel, I have a shortcut for you. You can mix 10 tablespoons of any caramel sauce (homemade or store bought, even this coconut caramel sauce!) with 2 ½ teaspoons of white miso paste as a substitute. Use 6 tablespoons in the frosting and about ¼ cup to add inside the hollow space in the middle of the frosting rings.
I use Marukome premium white miso paste to make my miso caramel and many of my miso desserts. It doesn’t have a lot of sodium so you’ll get just a hint of savoriness. But if your miso paste is a little bit saltier, it can still work here as a salted caramel buttercream frosting, or just reduce the amount a bit.
Are you ready to make these caramel apple cupcakes? Let me show you how! 👇
Hungry for more?
Caramel Apple Cupcakes Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Apple cupcakes
- ½ cup (135 g) apple butter, homemade or store bought, room temperature
- ½ cup (120 g) whole milk, or buttermilk, room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) vegetable or canola oil
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup (133 g) dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 ¼ cup (168 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice, cinnamon will also work
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Miso caramel frosting
- 6 oz (170 g) unsalted butter , room temperature
- 10 tablespoons (188 g) miso caramel, room temperature, divided, reserve ¼ cup for topping
- ¾ cup (75 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Make the apple cupcakes – In a large mixing bowl, add apple butter, milk, oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Beat with a whisk until thoroughly combined.½ cup apple butter, ½ cup whole milk, ½ cup vegetable or canola oil, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add sugar – Add brown sugar and beat again until completely incorporated.⅔ cup dark brown sugar
- Add dry ingredients – Sift flour, apple pie spice, baking soda and baking powder into a small mixing bowl. Add the salt and stir to distribute evenly. Add the dry ingredient mixture into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix gently with a whisk or a spatula until combined and no trace of flour remains.1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon apple pie spice, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- Preheat the oven – Let the cupcake batter rest while you preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Bake – Line 12 muffin cups from 1 standard size muffin pan with cupcake liners and divide cupcake batter evenly among the 12 cups. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 16 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
- Cool – Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before removing them from the pan and allowing them to cool completely on a wire rack before adding frosting.
- Make the miso caramel frosting – Add softened butter and 6 tablespoons (113 g) of miso caramel to a stand mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed for just a couple of minutes until the mixture is thoroughly combined and creamy.6 oz unsalted butter, 10 tablespoons miso caramel
- Add sugar and beat until fluffy – Add powdered sugar and stir to combine. Then gradually increase the mixer speed and beat until the frosting is lighter in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes.¾ cup powdered sugar
- Decorate the cupcakes – Using a pastry bag fitted with an open star (1M) tip, pipe a double ring of miso caramel frosting around the outer edge of each cupcake, leaving the center hollow. Spoon about a teaspoon of the remaining miso caramel into the center to fill the space.
Notes
- Miso caramel substitution: you can use 10 tablespoons (188 g) of any caramel sauce (homemade or store bought), and stir in 2 ½ teaspoons of white miso paste to make miso caramel. I use Marukome premium white miso paste.
- Serve: best served at room temperature within 2-3 days.
- Storage: store your caramel apple cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
I really appreciate the attention to detail you put in your recipes. I didn’t have the miso and used just straight caramel. I made them for my vet and friend. Excellent feedback! You inspired me to make them again using homemade apple butter and caramel! Thank you!
Thank you, Eileen! Straight caramel works just fine too! I’m glad you got excellent feedback on these 🙂
The cupcakes are to die for. So moist. I added a pinch more of cinnamon and nutmeg. Loved them.
The icing, not so much. Regular, cooked, Carmel icing would’ve been better. When I make them again, I will probably put cream cheese icing, without the Carmel in them. I even added powdered sugar and vanilla to the recipe. I hate to say it, but it ruined my beautiful cupcakes. Sorry!
Sorry to hear you didn’t like the frosting Lisa. Thanks for an honest review!
These cupcakes are right up my alley. It’s Autumn here right now so good timing for me to come across these.
Bring on the cavities! These will be worth it!
Do the finished cupcakes need to be refrigerated due to the frosting?
Yes, they should be refrigerated. If you plan to serve them right away or within the day, they don’t need to be kept in the fridge but you should definitely keep leftover in the fridge.
What a perfect flavorful treat for autumn! They’re so cute. 🙂
Thank you Sarah!
Great combo. Reminds me of the caramel apple suckers that I had growing up.
Oh wow, what an amazing special treat. Caramel and apple is a match made in heaven, I think!
Thank you so much!
you can practically taste them just reading the description and looking at the pictures. delicious isn’t sufficient to describe the anticipation.
Thank you!