The weather just started to cool down here and bring with it the first feeling of fall. Fall is my favorite season. I love the change in temperature, the changing of the leaves, and all of the tasty pumpkin, apple, and spiced treats. Apple cider and apple cider donuts are one of my favorite fall treats. I picked up some apple cider and was reminded of Snow White. While these caramel apple cupcakes aren’t poisonous, they’ll definitely make all of your fall dreams come true! These spiced apple cupcakes have a punch of fresh apple cider and are topped with a rich caramel frosting and a bright red fondant apple.
To make the cupcakes, combine the sugars, oil, and vanilla in a large bowl. Add the eggs and then the baking soda, cinnamon, flour, and cider. I definitely recommend using a fresh apple cider as the more flavorful the cider, the more cider taste you’ll get in the cupcake. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.
Growing up, Snow White was my favorite princess and she still holds a special place in my heart. Given the apple theme, I decorated these cupcakes in Snow White’s colors, with a blue cupcake liner, yellow frosting, a red fondant apple, and a red ribbon.
To make the frosting, you’ll start by making caramel. This might sound intimidating, but it’s really straightforward. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar and heavy cream. Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves. Once it starts to bubble, let it cook for a couple minutes and then remove from the heat and pour into a heat-safe bowl.
The caramel will need to cool before the powdered sugar can be mixed in, about 30 minutes. Once you’ve cooled it, gradually mix in the powdered sugar and food coloring. I used a couple drops of lemon yellow gel food coloring.
Once combined, transfer the frosting to a piping bag with a large round piping tip. The frosting was still a bit warm so I placed it in the refrigerator to chill for a couple minutes. Don’t let it chill too long as the caramel becomes harder to pipe.
To make the apple decorations, I used store bought red fondant and white fondant that I dyed brown using gel food color. It’s possible to dye some white fondant red as well, but I’ve found it takes a lot of dye to make it a nice dark red so it was easier to use pre-colored red fondant.
Cut the red fondant into small chunks and then roll each chunk into a small ball. Mine ended up being between 3/4 – 1 inch in diameter. Place on piece of parchment or wax paper while you make the stems. Roll a small amount of the brown fondant into a long thin strand. Cut into small pieces and shape the ends so they’re more rounded. Place on top of the red balls to make the apple stem.
The fondant apples can stay on the parchment paper until you’re ready to decorate, however, the longer they sit out the harder they will become. If you’re making the decorations a couple day in advance, just store them in a tupperware or other airtight container at room temperature.
To decorate the cupcakes, first pipe a large swirl of frosting onto each cupcake, then place a fondant apple on top and and tie a thin red ribbon around the cupcake where the cupcake and the liner meet.
Cheers to Fall! Enjoy!
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Snow White Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Ingredients
Apple Cider Cupcakes
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup apple cider
Caramel Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 5 tablespoons heavy cream, divided into 2 and 3 tablespoons
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- yellow gel food coloring
Decoration
- red fondant
- white fondant
- brown gel food coloring
- red ribbon
- blue cupcake liners
- large round piping tip
- piping bag
Instructions
Apple Cider Cupcakes
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Preheat oven to 350 Line muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, olive oil, and vanilla extract.
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Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated.
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Add in baking soda, cinnamon, half of the flour, and half of the cider. Beat until combined.
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Add the remaining flour and cider and beat until combined.
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Pour batter into prepared muffin pans, filling about each cup about ⅔ full.
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Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Caramel Frosting
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In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
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Add brown sugar and 2 tablespoons heavy cream. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved.
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Add salt and let cook for about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.
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Remove from the heat and pour into a large heat-safe bowl. Cool for 30 minutes.
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Gradually beat in powdered sugar and remaining 3 tablespoons of heavy cream.
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Stir in desired amount of yellow gel food coloring.
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Place frosting into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Let chill in refrigerator briefly, 1-2 minutes.
Fondant Apples
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Cut red fondant into small chunks. Roll each chunk into a ball to make the apple.
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Dye a small amount of white fondant brown using the gel food coloring. Roll into a thin line and cut into pieces to make the stem.
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Place a stem on top of each apple and set aside until ready to decorate.
Assembly
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Pipe frosting onto the top of each cupcake to create a large round swirl.
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Place a red fondant apple onto the top of each cupcake.
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Tie a red ribbon around the middle of each cupcake.
Recipe Notes
cupcakes adapted from Tasty