Julie Clark
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Apple Butter Cupcakes
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Apple Butter Cupcakes are one of the best apple recipes to make for a fall dessert. A simple cinnamon cupcake with apple butter buttercream for a classic fall flavor.
I have a simple recipe for you today. Simple, but possibly my favorite of our apple butter recipes that we tried.
I am a sucker for buttercream. If you’ve been following us for any amount of time, it’s really no secret. I knew I had to try adding our homemade apple butter into my favorite vanilla buttercream recipe, and I’m so glad I did.
Why you’ll love apple butter cupcakes:
- tangy, but light taste of apples that combines with the sweet buttercream
- piles of buttercream that sit upon the simple cinnamon cupcake
- easy recipe that is perfect for beginning bakers
- start with a box cake mix with added pudding mix so they are unbelievably moist
Apple Butter vs Applesauce
This recipe calls for apple butter, not applesauce. Apple butter is cooked longer than applesauce which creates an extra thick “butter” with intense apple flavor. It’s like jelly or jam. You can either make your own apple butter or buy it at the store for the apple butter cupcakes.
How to Make Apple Butter Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease or line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners in a cupcake pan. Set aside.
- Beat cake mix, pudding mix, apple cider, oil, eggs, cinnamon and vanilla in bowl of electric mixer on low speed just to moisten, scraping sides of the bowl as needed. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes.
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full. Use an ice cream scoop to transfer the batter easily.
- Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely.
Make the Apple Butter Frosting
- Beat 1 cup (2 sticks) of room temperature butter in large bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until light, fluffy, and almost white in appearance. This is one of our secrets for the best buttercream!
- Add the apple butter and mix well. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
- Then add in the 2 cups powdered sugar. Beat until well blended. Add more powdered sugar to stiffen the buttercream, or a bit of milk to make the buttercream more spreadable.
- Frost the apple butter cupcakes using a knife, or decorate with an icing bag and tip (Wilton tip 1M) to make a pretty swirl.
Storage Instructions
- Room temperature: Store in an airtight container on the counter for up to 24 hours.
- Refrigerator: Store the apple butter cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before eating.
- Freezer: Freeze the cupcakes whole or sliced in an airtight container for up to 2 months. I double wrap by wrapping in plastic wrap, then placing the wrapped cupcakes in another storage container. Thaw at room temperature before eating.
Apple Butter Cupcakes
These Apple Butter Cupcakes are a simple cinnamon cupcake with apple butter creamed into the buttercream for a classic fall flavor.
Servings 24
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 package yellow cake mix 15.25 ounces
- 3.4 ounces vanilla instant pudding mix 4-serving size
- 1 cup apple cider or 2% milk
- 1/2 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Apple Butter Buttercream:
- 1 cup salted butter room temperature (8 ounces)
- 2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup apple butter
Instructions
Make the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease or line 24 muffin cups with paper baking cups. Set aside.
- Beat cake mix, pudding mix, apple cider, oil, eggs, cinnamon and vanilla in bowl of electric mixer on low speed just to moisten, scraping sides as needed. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. 1 package yellow cake mix, 3.4 ounces vanilla instant pudding mix, 1 cup apple cider, ½ cup canola oil, 4 large eggs, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full. Use an ice cream scoop to transfer the batter easily.
- Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely.
Make the buttercream:
- Beat 1 cup (2 sticks) of room temperature butter in large bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until light, fluffy, and almost white in appearance. 1 cup salted butter
- Add the apple butter and mix well. 2 ¾ cups powdered sugar
- Then add in the 2 cups powdered sugar. Beat until well blended. Add more powdered sugar to stiffen the buttercream, or a bit of milk to make the buttercream more spreadable. 2 ¾ cups powdered sugar
- Frost the cupcakes using a knife, or decorate with an icing bag and tip (Wilton tip 1M) to make a pretty swirl.
Notes
- If you only have unsalted butter, add ½ teaspoon salt for flavor.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Nutrition
Calories: 277kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 266mg | Potassium: 39mg | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 300IU | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 0.6mg
Loved the recipe and added a little more (1/4 cup) of cinnamon apple butter to the frosting Everyone at our luncheon LOVED them!!!
I tried this recipe last weekend for my guests & they loved it. Thanks for sharing it.
The cake part was simple enough although it did not have enough cinnamon so I included more, The actual frosting though was a problem, apple butter does not have a strong enough apple flavor for the buttercream making it taste to much like the actual butter. This can be fixed by using an apple extract or like what I did which was spicing it up with cinnamon cloves and a bit of lime juice for acidity. It also helps to make an apple pie filling for the inside which gives it more apple flavor which the cupcakes would not have… Read more »