Fall is definitely here in Vancouver. I love fall and all that comes with it. The colours, cooler weather, bundling up in warmer clothes and covers at night, Halloween and Thanksgiving, apple picking and of course the flavours! To celebrate the arrival of autumn and perhaps cheer up a few friends that are getting down because of the rain, I decided to make apple pie cupcakes this week. I started by baking some apples with brown sugar and cinnamon just like they would inside a pie. Layering them in the cupcake would continue baking them and blend the flavour with the cake. I topped it all off with vanilla icing to recall the simple scoop of vanilla icing that tops a warm apple pie slice. Here is the recipe for 18 cupcakes:
cake:
- 3 apples
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 cups of flour
- 2 tsp of baking powder
- 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup of butter
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 apple
- 1/2 cup of cream
- 1/2 cup of milk
method:
- preheat the oven to 350
- peel and cut the apples into quarters, place in a skillet or a pan that goes into the oven
- add a 1/4 cup of packed brown sugar and a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and stir roughly all together
- start cooking the apples on the stove
- when the sugar starts to melt mix everything together a bit more evenly
- when the sugar is completely melted and starts to boil, stir one last time and put in the oven for 20 minutes
- when the apples are done take them out of the oven, stir one last time to cover the apples with the melted sugar and set aside.
- sift the flour, baking powder, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and salt together and set aside
- beat the butter until it is light and fluffy
- add the brown and granulated sugar and beat thoroughly
- add the eggs one at a time and beat in between each addition, then beat on high for 30 seconds
- puree the last apple and add it to the butter, sugar, egg mix
- add the flour and combine
- add the cream and milk and combine until smooth
- line a cupcake pan with paper cups
- put half the cupcake batter in the paper cups, then add the cooked apples and then add the rest of the cupcake batter on top covering the apples
- bake for 20 minutes
icing:
- 3 egg whites
- 140g of sugar
- 1 1/4 cup of butter cut in 1 inch cubes
- 1 vanilla bean
method:
- combine the egg whites and sugar in a double boiler
- whisk a little until all the sugar is melted away and the eggs reach body temperature
- take off the double boiler and beat on high until it forms a firm meringue
- add the butter one cube at a time while beating on a lower speed
- beat on high until you get a nice fluffy texture (it will turn to a cottage cheese kind of texture about half way through, just keep beating)
- add the vanilla bean
Enjoy :)
