December 20, 2010

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

I can't believe that a month as gone by with just a blink of an eye since my last post. I wanted to squeeze this recipe in amongst all the cooking, baking, shopping and holiday festivities going on this month. I found this recipe on www.noblepig.com, which is a blog I visit quite often for some entertaining reads and great ideas with food and wine. Cathy posted this recipe a while back, as as soon as I saw this fabulous recipe, and I knew this sensational treat was in my near future. Don't you love when you stumble across a recipe you want to try, so you forge the pantry to see what is needed and low and behold, you have everything you need? I love when that happens!

This was so quick to throw together and bake up. I used ready made store bought caramel which you can find in the produce or refrigerated section. It worked perfectly! This one is a keeper! Thank you Cathy for your great inspirations!

I love that you can see the grated apples in the batter!!

Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Noble Pig (Cathy at Noble Pig, adapted this recipe from Everyday)

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup veg or canola oil
2 tsp good vanilla extract
2-3 Granny Smith or Rome apples (about 1 pound), peeled and shredded
1 1/2 cups chewy caramel candies
1 tbsp heavy cream
(In place of the caramel candies and heavy cream, you can buy pre-made caramel) I went this route and it was a fabulous shortcut.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with baking liners. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Grate your apples to ensure you'll get apple with every bite of caramel. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar and granulated sugars until smooth. Whisk in the oil and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture until just combined; stir in the apples.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan until almost full. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes our dry, 25-30 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

In a small, microwavable bowl, combine the caramels and cream. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between each one until caramel is melted and smooth. dip cupcakes upside down into caramel and let cool.

Enjoy each and every scrumptious bite!!!