hello, fall. [hard cider cupcakes filled & topped w. caramel-whiskey apples & whiskey buttercream]

September 24th, 2014 by | comments

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I couldn’t think of a better way to welcome fall than with these luscious hard cider cupcakes. Although it doesn’t feel like fall in LA yet (it’s still in the high 80s), that doesn’t mean I can’t start cooking with fall ingredients! I can hardly wait to cook with pumpkin. :-)


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hard cider cupcakes filled & topped w. caramel-whiskey soaked apples & whiskey buttercream
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • Hard cider cupcakes recipe (makes 24 cupcakes):
  • ⅓ cup butter
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • ½ tbsp. vanilla extract
  • 2½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ tbsp. cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. nutmeg
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tbsp. baking soda
  • 1 cup hard apple cider, at room temperature
  • Whiskey caramel apple filling recipe:
  • 3 tbsp. butter
  • 2 large Honey Crisp apples peeled, cored, and diced
  • ¼ cup dark brown sugar
  • ¼ tsp. cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • 1½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp. whiskey
  • Cinnamon whiskey buttercream recipe:
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
  • 3½ cups powdered sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1-2 tbsp. whiskey
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. For the cupcakes: In a small saucepan, heat the butter over low-medium heat, whisking constantly. Once you see brown specks appear on the bottom, remove from the heat and continue whisking for 30 seconds. Pour into another bowl so that the butter doesn’t continue to cook.
  3. Once the butter is cool, add the buttermilk, egg, sugars and vanilla, and mix until well combined.
  4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda.
  5. Gradually add the flour to the wet ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
  6. Once the flour is fully incorporated, stir in the hard cider, being careful not to over mix.
  7. Line a muffin pan with liners, and spray them with non-stick spray. Fill each muffin tin slightly more than halfway with the batter.
  8. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
  9. For the Filling: Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the apples, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the apples are soft and have released their juices.
  10. In a separate bowl, whisk together the whiskey with cornstarch, and then add to the pan with the apples and cook for about 3 minutes, until the liquid thickens. Set aside to cool.
  11. For the Frosting: Cream the butter for about 30 seconds. Add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until creamy.
  12. Add the whiskey and beat on high for 2-3 minutes, until fluffy and whipped.
  13. For cupcake assembly: Core each cupcake with a cupcake corer, or with a knife angled at 45-degrees (the shape you remove will be a cone shape). Fill the cupcake with the apple pieces, then top with buttercream. If you have leftover apples (this will depend on how much of the cupcake center you removed), top the frosting with more apples. Add a dash of cinnamon to the tops of the cupcakes, as well.
Notes
Recipe from Veggie and the Beast.

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4 thoughts on “hello, fall. [hard cider cupcakes filled & topped w. caramel-whiskey apples & whiskey buttercream]”

  2. I love everything about this recipe! Love apple cider things, especially when they’re incorporated into cupcakes! Nice to not see a pumpkin cupcake recipe like many of the other blogs.

  3. Looks like the perfect way to welcome fall, with a hard cider-sweet punch to the taste buds.

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