Skip the fork! These Apple Pie Cupcakes are perfectly spiced cupcakes stuffed with apple pie filling and topped with a light whipped topping. The perfect way to get your Apple Pie fix! {VIDEO at the end of this post!}
Apple Pie Cupcakes
Tis’ the season for apples! And when you don’t feel like having an apple pie then these Apple Pie Cupcakes are just the best alternative that you can get. Perfectly spiced cupcakes paired with from-scratch apple goodness… you really can’t go wrong with these delicious cupcakes!
What Kind of Apples Are Best for Baking?
I prefer to use Granny Smith apples in this recipe as they hold up beautifully when baked or fried. We did try Honeycrisp apples and liked them, but when we tried Red Delicious apples, it wasn’t our favorite. The texture of the apples was almost the same as the cupcake and there wasn’t as strong of an apple flavor. When possible, opt for a Granny Smith!
Can I use Canned Apple Pie Filling?
You can use pre-made (as in make it yourself ahead of time!) Apple Pie Filling or you can definitely use store-bought canned apple pie filling.
Tips and Tricks for the Best Apple Cupcakes
Be sure you know your oven. You want the cupcake to be baked fully, but not burnt, so keep an eye on it at the 20-minute mark.
Try store-bought whipped cream for another time-saving trick. You can also use a spice cake mix to make these REALLY semi-homemade.
Want to be the star of your Thanksgiving celebrations? You can make this cupcake BAKERY worthy by adding a caramel drizzle or heath chips on top.
More Apple Treats
Apple Pie Cupcakes
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 medium apples, cored, peeled and diced small
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
Cupcake
- 1½ cups (187.5g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup (170g) butter, melted 170g butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup (122.5g) whole milk
Cream Frosting
- ¾ cup (178.5g) heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- cinnamon, for sprinkling
Instructions
Apple Filling
- Mix the apples, granulated sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl.
- Melt the butter in a medium pan over medium heat and add the apples mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until the apples are tender and liquid is bubbling, about 6 minutes.
- Add the flour, and stir until the liquid thickens.
- Remove from heat and let the filling cool completely.
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl.
- In another bowl beat the sugar and eggs until light and creamy.
- While continuing to beat, gradually pour in the butter, then the vanilla. Next add half your flour mixture, then your milk, then remaining flour making sure to beat well after each addition.
- Divide the batter evenly among the cups of the prepared muffin tin. Top each with a mound of apple filling.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick (around the edge) comes out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool in the tin for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Cream Frosting
- Beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and sour cream in a medium bowl until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
- Transfer to a piping bag fitted with your favorite tip and pipe a swirl of frosting onto each cupcake.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
I just made these using 2% milk instead of whole and it was fine.
Absolutely delicious cupcake! I read several recipes for apple pie cupcakes before deciding to make this one. The only change I made was to use a cinnamon brown sugar buttercream circle of frosting with a little extra heap of cinnamon apples in the middle. Awesome! Thank you for your recipe. I look forward to trying more of them.
These cupcakes were so yummy and disappeared quickly in my house! lol I will save this recipe, for sure!
I see they are 306 calories, but can I have the nutritional info. in its entirety, please? I track my food daily…
Hi, Ashley! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. We only provide a rough estimate of calories per serving. Have a great day!
Just one word: delicious! I only changed the frosting into a cream cheese frosting.
The video of this recipe says to use baking soda but the recipe that you put on the website of baking powder is it baking soda or baking powder
The written recipe is correct. 🙂
Will the recipe work with gluten free flour? Or how would I need to adjust it?
Hi, Mary! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. We have not tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, so I can’t speak to its effectiveness. Please let us know if you try it and how the cupcakes turn out. Have a wonderful day!
We made this exactly as explained, and they were the best cupcakes we had all year. They were not super sweet, and neither was the frosting. The apple taste really came through.
I made these cupcakes the first time and only baked them for 20 minutes and they were to dry, but they tasted really good.
How many cupcakes does this recipe make? Also, is the icing recipe make enough for all of them? 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar just didn’t sound like enough
My daughter and I made these tonight and are hands down the best cupcakes we’ve ever had! We followed the recipe exactly, well 2 differences, 1. I used 2% milk, and 2. I used 4tbs of powdered sugar, but those are minor. Thank you so much and I look forward to trying out many more of your recipes