September 4, 2017
Apple Crumble Cupcakes!
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Light, soft, cinnamon sponges with apple, golden delicious crumble, cinnamon buttercream, and even more crumble. Apple crumble cupcakes, perfect for Autumn.
Autumn baking
WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER! Even though Autumn doesn’t technically start until late September, I still say its Autumn now. Therefore, APPLE CRUMBLE CUPCAKES are now a thing on my blog.
I posted the cake version of this last year, apple crumble cake, and its always been a hit. The cake was a beautiful marriage of soft, light sponge, with cinnamon, and the delicious baked apple. These cupcakes? The PERFECT smaller version.
Apple crumble cupcakes
In complete honesty, the cupcake mixture is literally the cake mixture halved. The cake version worked so well, that I didn’t want to mess with it. However, because of this, it did produce more that my usual 12 cupcake batches. You can try and reduce it if you like, but I like the extra cupcakes… who doesn’t?!
The cupcakes have the perfect amount of cinnamon for me, but you can add some more if you wished. The extra sugar can be a worry for some, but it helps the apple bake perfectly.
Apples
When baking these, I was worried that the apple in the cupcakes wouldn’t be baked through enough, so I made the pieces a little smaller than the cake version, and it was ideal. The apple still has a ‘bite’ so that its not just mush, and it helps make sure the cupcakes bake through properly.
Coating the apple in a little brown sugar, reduces the tartness of the apple slightly, and gives it a wonderfully delicious flavour. Adding that with the cinnamon, is deeeeeelightful.
Baking with apples
I have recently started to love baked fruit.. because originally, I used to hate cooked fruit. Something about the texture would really get to me, but honestly? These cupcakes and my apple crumble cake have changed that. Baked enough to make the apple soft enough to eat, but not so mushy that the cupcake can’t even bake.
Topping
The cupcakes are topped with crumble mixture which gives the cupcakes an amazing taste as well as texture! Then, topped with a lightly hinted cinnamon and vanilla buttercream, and even more crumble goodness makes these cupcakes utterly irresistible and completely moreish!
Enjoy your Autumn everyone, and these cupcakes as well! Enjoy! x
Apple Crumble Cupcakes!
Ingredients
Cupcake Ingredients
- 250 g cooking apples (peeled + chopped weight)
- 150 g unsalted butter
- 150 g light brown sugar (+25g extra)
- 150 g self raising flour
- 3 medium eggs
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Crumble Ingredients
- 120 g plain flour
- 60 g caster sugar
- 60 g unsalted butter
Buttercream Ingredients
- 200 g unsalted butter (room temp)
- 400 g icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan and Line a 12 hole muffin tray with large cupcake cases/muffin cases or put 12 Iced Jems baking cups onto a flat tray! Peel and core the apples, cube the apples into about 1cm (small) pieces.
- Put the apples into a bowl, and cover with the 25g of light brown sugar. Mix it up so all the apple pieces are covered and leave to the side.
Crumble
- Make the crumble mixture. Rub together the sugar, flour and butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs, leave to the side for now.
Cupcakes
- Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the flour, eggs, and cinnamon and beat until smooth. Fold through the apple mixture and spoon into your cupcake cases. Because of the apple, you will probably get more than 12 out of the batch.
- Sprinkle on a layer of the crumble mixture (only about 1/2cm worth per cupcake) and then bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until baked through!
- Once baked, transfer to a rack to cool completely. After they’re out of the oven, sprinkle some of the spare crumble mixture onto a baking tray and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until its lightly coloured (170C Fan). Leave the crumble mixture to cool.
Buttercream
- Beat the butter for a few minutes until really light and supple. Add in the icing sugar 1/3 at a time and beat fully after each incorporation.
- Add in the cinnamon, vanilla and 1-2tbsps of boiling water and beat for about 5 minutes until really light and fluffy.
Topping
- Using a 2D closed star piping tip, pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle on some of the cooked crumble mixture and maybe an extra sprinkle of cinnamon, and some sprinkles and enjoy!
Notes
- I recommend using Iced Jems baking cups and a 2D closed star piping tip to decorate!
- When buying the apples, buy above the 250g as thats the chopped and peeled weight. You need to go for about 400g worth unpeeled, to make sure that its enough!
- Some oven temperatures can vary even if you set it to the ‘correct temperature’. You can tell if a cake is well and truly done by testing them with a skewer, and seeing if it comes out clean. HOWEVER, you need to also listen to the cake, if its still making a crackling/bubbling sound then its not quite done. Keep baking till that sound goes away!
- I reeeeally would recommend using COOKING apples for this rather than regular eating apples because of the length of time the cake is baking for. If you used regular apples, there is a chance they’d turn to mush, and then the cake wouldn’t bake well either. The lovely bright green cooking apples are the ones you’re after!
- You could also use a ready made crumble mix if you like as well as it does save time, but you’ll still need to bake it on top of the cake in the same way, and bake the spare in the same way as well!
- This cake will last in an airtight container for up to 3 days!
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J x
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I would like to try this bake but by adding blackberries too. Do I need to change anything within the recipe if adding blackberries too?
Thank you
Hiya! You would need to end up with the same total weight of fruit. Hope this helps! x
If i were to make these but instead of cupcakes put mixture into the doughnut moulds would this affect the cooking time
Wow! These are so delicious, lovely and moist, tasty, and the crumble gives a lovely crunch. I used stork as I do with most of Janes recipes where suggested as I find it does give a lighter sponge and these were so light and moist. Will definitely be making again.
Hi Jane , love this recipe so much always enjoyed by us all , could I ask do you think it would work with rhubarb instead of apple .. thanks x
Hi
Could you please advise if I could freeze these. Would be ideal if I could make a batch and freeze some.
Loved making these, used cooking apples, but couldn’t taste any apple flavour in the bake 🙁 did I do something wrong?
Hi Jane,
Could I use 2 large eggs instead of the 3 medium please or would I have to adjust something?
Hello! No I would use 3 large and up the rest of the ingredients to 175g xx
Hi Jane,
I only have large eggs, shall I just use 2 and leave everything the same please.
Thank you
Hello! I would use three large eggs but make the rest of the ingredients (flour, butter, sugar) 175g x
Loved these and easy to make. My elderly mum fancied cake apples and cinnamon so these were ideal choice! I used much more cinnamon in the cake and omitted the crumble as mum only eats very small amounts, she loved them! I made the Apple pieces about 0.5cm and didn’t go soggy. Definitely will make again.
Do you think it really needs cinnamon in it? I don’t have any in but really want to make them but I don’t want it to really ruin the flavour?
I personally think they are best with the cinnamon, but it won’t be the worst without!
Had some cooking apples to use up in the fridge, and hubby loves crumble so this just cried out to be made today. Just beautiful. Really tasted like Apple crumble. I only had large eggs so increased the mix slightly to 175g. Had to bake about 5 mins extra too? The cinnamon was just the right amount. Didn’t have spinkles on but the crumble pieces were perfect. Another of your recipes I will be making again.
These are amazing, Parents seem to be stealing them all from me!
Hahah amazing!!
My daughter keeps asking to make apple muffins and these sound divine, can I use regular apples like Braeburn or does it have to be cooking apples?
For the cupcakes it’s better than the traybake/cake version of this recipe, but they can still go a lot mushier in these which is why I recommend baking/cooking apples!
Hi Jane. We don’t have selfraising flour in Germany. How can I substitute it? Thank you x
Use plain flour with 1.5tsp baking powder instead!
Hi Jane! I love this recipe but I’m not a massive fan of buttercream so do you think this could work in a traybake? I have seen your cookie bar recipe but this one is definitely my favourite! If it could work as as traybake what size tin do you think would be best? Thank you for your help! Paula
Hiya! I’m afraid I haven’t tried this exact recipe as a traybake – but in general I would say one batch of cupcakes makes an 8″ round tin cake. So you could maybe double it, or use the Cake version and bake in a 9×13″ tin?! Keeping an eye on the timings though as I’m not 100% certain of them.
I love the sound of these, and the big cake version! Have you ever tried the same recipe in a loaf tin?
I haven’t unfortunately – but it’s definitely worth a try!
Hi Jane!!
These look amazing! Can you grate the apple?
The apple would be too small in my opinion – chunks would be better.
Could I put some dried fruit in these along with the apple?
These look fab Jane!
Thank you! ❤️?
Yummm! I should try this recipe as soon as my kithcen will be ready!!!
Yayy! Enjoy! ☺️
Yessssss girl, get Autumn in full swing! These look lush, apple crumble is my deathbed dessert!
Thank youuu, Kelly! x
Hi Jane . I’ve made theses but I’m not keen on the sponge being bit soggy where the Apple chunks are is there anyway I can stop the sogginess? Part from that love the taste 😊
Hiya! I’m not sure really – You can try maybe a slightly higher temp? But because of the moisture from the fruit, it will always be a little softer there!