Craving all the cozy vibes of fall baking?
These little cupcakes are just the thing! They’re super easy to make and delicious, soft, flavorful, and full of that autumn spice we all love. Plus, who doesn’t love cupcakes? They’re the perfect portion, not as overwhelming as a big slice of cake, but just as satisfying.
These are great for sharing too—perfect for school bake sales, classroom parties, or cozy get-togethers with friends and family. Kids and adults alike will be reaching for seconds, so you might want to make a double batch!
Whether you’re baking for a crowd or just treating yourself, these fall cupcakes are a must-try this season. 🍁🧁
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
22-25 minutes
Serves
12-15
Ingredients
- Cake Ingredients:
- 1 15.25 oz. box of spice cake mix (I used Ducan Hines)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup Caramel topping
- 1 granny smith apple, peeled and grated
- 2 egg whites
- 1 egg yolk
- Frosting:
- 1 1/2 sticks or 3/4 cup butter
- 2 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
- 1/8 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp.vanilla paste or extract
- 2 T milk
Steps
1
Gather all ingredients to make the recipe. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2
Put all cake ingredients into a large bowl and either mix by hand or use a mixer until well blended.
3
Pour the batter into the liners in a muffin pan and bake at 350 degrees for 22 minnutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool in pan for about 10 min. then turn out onto a wire rack, and let cool completely before frosting.
4
Make the frosting by adding the softened butter and add the rest of the frosting ingredients to a large bowl. Turn on mixer and beat until well combined.
5
Frosting Tips: Once your frosting is ready, it’s time to prep it for piping onto the cupcakes. One handy trick I learned years ago is to wrap the frosting in plastic wrap before placing it in the piping bag. To do this, spoon the frosting onto a sheet of plastic wrap, then fold the bottom up nearly to the top and fold the sides over to create a neat frosting “log.” Make sure to leave one end open so the frosting can flow through. Then, slide the wrapped frosting into a pastry bag fitted with your desired piping tip.
Now you’re ready to frost! I like to pipe in a circular motion, starting from the outer edge and working my way to the center. As for toppings—since half the people I know love nuts and the other half don’t—I did a mix of both to keep everyone happy.
Yum! Perfect fall flavors! And they look just gorgeous!
These are perfect flavors for Fall!
thank you, I'm in the Fall mode for sure now if only the weather would corporate.
AWESOME!!!!!
thanks!
Those are the most gorgeous cupcakes! I feel like I can reach in and grab one.
thank you! then I'm improving on my photos!
Absolutely scrumptious! Would love to have one right now with a hot cup of coffee. I probably should not admit to this but I'm prolly the only person in blogland that hasn't learned to do the frosting this way. Thanks for your hints! I must try this recipe.
Have a wonderful week!
Pat
your welcome Pat glad to share some tips anytime.
Oh, I'm definitely going to add these to my growing list of apple recipes to try. : )
Kelli since you are watching what your eating if you leave off the frosting they are still really good and you could even leave out the egg yolk too.
These sound delicious. We're taking the kids apple picking this weekend and this would make a fun treat for that afternoon.
apple picking sound so fun, enjoy!
This looks soooo amazing! I can't wait to try. Thanks so much for the recipe. I enjoy reading your blog and getting new ideas and recipes for my family.
With that said I wanted to pass along to you the One Lovely Blog Award! You can read more here:
http://justanordinarygirlblog.wordpress.com/2010/…
These must taste like a heavenly bite of fall!!! YUM!
Yep the best part is there easy too!
I am a big fan of cupcake eating and making, especially when it involves these glorious fall flavors!
Cupcakes are yummy for sure and Fall gives us a good excuse!
What a beautiful desert. I have several apple trees and I'm at a loss how to use all of my apples. Thank you for this wonderful idea.
*kisses* HH
Apple trees wow that's great, have fun trying these out.
These sound so good! I have a spice cake mix that is about to expire and I needed something to make with it. No butter or oil huh? Since you grate the apple, does it kinda end up like the texture of zucchini or carrot cake?
No oil or butter and it works and yes it does end up a bit like zucchini cake.
Thank you so much for the pastry bag tip! I tried wrapping my frosting in it today and it was so much cleaner then my previous attempt!
great so glad it worked out better for you!