Apple Pie Cupcakes

My Apple Pie cupcakes recipe is so easy to make that you might just skip making Apple Pie this Thanksgiving! The Apple Pie cupcake features a brown sugar cupcake base that is enhanced with Fall spices, apple pie filling, and a delicate whipped mascarpone frosting! The ultimate, easy, from-scratch cupcakes with apples to try for Thanksgiving or any time over the Fall!

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• 🌟 Why this is the best recipe
• 📝 Ingredient notes
• 👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe
• 🎓 Expert tips
• ❓Recipe FAQs
• 🍎 More Apple dessert recipes
• Apple Pie Cupcakes

🌟 Why this is the best recipe

1. It is extremely easy – No fancy ingredients are needed, the apple pie filled cupcakes come together really easily, a totally doable from-scratch cupcake recipe. For beginners, making this Apple Pie cupcake is definitely much easier than making traditional Apple Pie
2. It is super quick – Compared to Apple Pie where you have to chill the dough etc., these Apple Pie cupcakes can be made much quicker, the perfect choice if you want something quick and impressive for Thanksgiving dinner
3. It is super delicious – Imagine the moistest cupcake you have ever tasted loaded with Fall spices. Flavorful apple pie filling and a super creamy, not too sweet whipped mascarpone on top to balance the spices...Dreamy! You will love it!
4. No special equipment is needed – All you need is a cupcake tin that you probably already have at home and you are good to go to make this lovely Apple filled cupcake recipe
5. It is super versatile – This Apple Pie cupcake recipe can be made using different spices eg. cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. You can even replace some of the flour with walnut flour or almond flour to give the cupcakes a slightly different spin. Feel free to experiment

📝 Ingredient notes

For the cupcakes

1. Butter: Use always unsalted butter as you want to be in control of the quantity of the salt. I am using 82% fat content butter in all my recipes. In this Apple Pie cupcake recipe, the butter needs to be at room temperature which technically means soft enough to be able to cream but not too soft or runny so avoid last-minute microwaving
2. Sugar: I am using a mix of granulated and brown sugar to make these apple filled cupcakes
3. Egg: Use room temperature eggs as always
4. Flour: All-purpose flour or pastry flour makes the best cupcakes when you bake them from scratch. They are so-called “soft flour” which is low on protein resulting in a delicate, tender texture. It is always a good idea to sift your flour as it tends to form lumps. If you want to be a Pro when it comes to deciding what type of flour to use in your baking, please read my flour guide
5. Salt: An essential ingredient in most dessert recipes. Balances flavor and enhances other ingredients
6. Baking powder: Has two functions: increase the volume and lighten the texture
7. Milk: Room temperature whole milk is the best
8. White vinegar+baking soda: The SECRET ingredients to make cupcakes that are super moist and tender

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

For the whipped mascarpone frosting

1. Mascarpone: Very rich Italian cream cheese, exceptionally smooth and easy to spread or whip. The flavor is milky and slightly sweet.  Use at room temperature.
2. Heavy cream / Whipped cream: Also known as whipping cream, has a fat content of between 36% and 40%, the one I am using is 36%. Use it very cold and do not substitute with vegetable-based “whipping cream”
3. Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar or icing sugar is the first choice when it comes to whipping up the frosting. The question I often get is whether the quantity is a typo. NO, it´s not! You do not actually need a lot of sugar when making cupcake frosting! It stays beautifully fluffy without tons of sugar, the secret is the technique of whipping, not the amount of sugar

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

For the apple pie filling

1. Apple: Almost any apple can work that is available in your country, peel apples and cut them into small pieces
2. Lemon juice: Balances flavor, freshly squeeze the juice of half a lemon
3. Brown sugar: Granulated sugar can work too however brown sugar gives beautiful molasses flavor to the filling
4. Cinnamon: I am using cinnamon in this apple pie filling, there are a couple of other spices that can work too: cardamon, nutmeg, vanilla bean, tonka bean, gloves, etc.

Check my caramelized apple recipe for more details on how to prepare the filling!

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe

1. How to make moist brown sugar cupcakes with apples

This is a super simple cupcake recipe that works as a wonderful base and makes 6 amazing tall bakery-style brown sugar flavored apple pie filled cupcakes.

There are 2 important considerations to bear in mind while making the cupcakes:

1. Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric hand mixer for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Then, add the egg to the creamed mixture and whip until fully combined.
2. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour+baking powder++spice+salt).
3. Add the wet and dry ingredients gently into the whipped mixture (butter+sugar+egg) in 4 steps: first, add half of the wet (room temperature milk), then half the dry, then the remaining wet, and then the remaining dry. Make sure you finish with the dry ingredients.
4. Mix the vinegar and the baking soda together in a small bowl. It will be super bubbly. Then immediately fold the mixture into the cupcake batter within a few seconds.
5. Fill each cup of your muffin tin ¾ full of batter. Then bake the cupcakes at 175C / 347F (no fan) for 25 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted comes out clean. When done baking, allow them to cool completely on a Cooling rack before frosting.

💡 Top Tip: Room temperature ingredients encourage proper emulsification in the cupcake batter. So make sure that the butter, egg, and milk are all at room temperature for the best results.

2. How to make Apple pie filling to fill these cupcakes

Making apple pie filling could not be easier, it literally comes together in less than 10 minutes!

1. Peel and cut apples into small identical chunks
2. In a saucepan, mix apple pieces with brown sugar, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and your chosen spice(s), and cook the mixture over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the apple pieces are slightly cooked and some water evaporates from the mixture
3. The cooking time largely depends on your stove, saucepan, and type of apples you use. Please check the apple consistency and do not stick to the 5 minutes mark, do overcook your apple filling.

💡 Top Tip: Cool the apple filling to room temperature before filling the cupcakes

3. How to make whipped mascarpone frosting

This frosting is super simple, it consists of full-fat mascarpone, heavy cream (36% fat), and a small amount of icing sugar / powdered sugar whipped until it is a pipeable fluffy consistency. I love this recipe and use it to frost my tiramisu cupcakes as well.

It is a super stable frosting that is creamy and milky. Much less sweet than buttercream and way more delicious!

Using the right ingredients at the right temperature is extremely important while making cream cheese frosting.

1. The mascarpone should be cold and the full-fat version (41%+) should be used.
2. The heavy cream should be very cold and the full-fat version (36%)
3. Powdered sugar must be sifted to avoid lumps.

Whip the mixture with an electric hand mixer for a minute or two until it reaches a creamy, fluffy consistency, and then stop. It won't get any stiffer after this point. In fact, if you overbeat it, it will get only runnier and then it will break. I never use my stand mixer to whip this frosting because it really is so easy to overwhip it.

Once you are happy with the consistency of your frosting, move frosting into a piping bag fitted with your favorite nozzle tip, the one I am using is Wilton 1M piping nozzle tip to decorate these lovely mini Apple Pie cupcakes.

💡 Top Tip: If you do not have heavy, the recipe also works with full fat cream cheese eg. Philadephia, in that way you can turn this recipe into wonderful Apple pie cupcakes with cream cheese frosting!

4. How to assemble the Apple Cupcakes

The Spiced Apple Cupcakes are in fact very easy to fill and frost! They are almost too pretty to eat, but so delicious you won't be able to resist!

1. Make a small hole on each of the cupcakes and fill them with the Apple Pie filling. Make sure that neither the cupcake nor the filling is warm at this point, they should be room temp
2. Prepare the mascarpone frosting as per the instructions and pipe it on top of each cupcake. I am using Wilton 1M piping nozzle tip
3. Decorate the cupcakes with some further apple pie filling in the middle of the frosting
4. Store the Apple pie filled cupcakes in the fridge in an airtight container.

Voila, your Apple Pie cupcakes are done, they are best served immediately but stay fresh also in the fridge in an airtight container for 1-2 days. For more information read my how to store and freeze cupcakes baking guide.

💡 Top Tip: Never frost warm cupcakes! It will turn into a runny mess. You also want to test the temperature of your frosting. If it's on the soft side, put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up before decorating your cupcakes.

🎓 Expert tips

1. Always use room temperature ingredients so that they will properly emulsify. If your butter, milk or egg is too cold, the cupcake batter might even break
2. Do not over-mix the cupcake batter. Once the butter, sugar, and egg are whipped together, the rest of the wet and dry ingredients should be gently mixed in without over-mixing the batter
3. Do not overfill your cupcake tin. For this cupcake recipe, I recommend filling each cup of your cupcake tin ¾ full. The recipe is designed to make 6 tall cupcakes. Cupcake liners come in different sizes in terms of their height, so try to buy the taller ones. My cupcake case is 35mm / 1.3 inch in height and 65mm / 2.5inch in diameter.  If you overfill your cupcake tin it will result in “mushroom-style” cupcakes!
4. Mascarpone frosting is very easy to overwhip. When whipping the frosting stop as soon as the mixture has reached a fluffy consistency (this will take 1-2 minutes). It won't get any stiffer after this point. In fact, if you overbeat it, it will get only runnier and then break.
5. Never frost-warm cupcakes. Wait until they are fully cooled and come to room temperature.

❓Recipe FAQs

🍎 More Apple dessert recipes