Baking Article by Destiny J. Constantin

Can you believe it’s almost time for Halloween? I have been watching my favorite baking competitions on the Food Network including, Halloween Baking Championship, Halloween Wars, and The Big Bake. Dad says I am crowding up the DVR box again. I haven’t had much time to watch television because I have been busy with school, tutoring, and working on book reviews, but I always grab a snack before bedtime and watch my favorite shows before going to sleep. There was an episode where they needed to include the flavors of Halloween candy and treats into their desserts, so I thought about fall flavors, which are pumpkin and apple. Then, I thought about the candy apple mom, and I always eat while we watch my favorite Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus. I looked up some recipes from one of my favorite food bloggers, Sally from Sally’s Baking Addiction, and found her Apple Spice Cupcake recipe, and ideas popped into my head.  I love taking a recipe and trying to figure out how to put my own twist on it and make it gluten-free, so I can enjoy the sweet treats I make too.

This week, I want to share my take on apple spice cupcakes with a mascarpone cream cheese frosting and a salted caramel drizzle. Candy apples and apple slices with peanut butter on them and my love of apple pie inspired my reinvented caramel apple cupcake recipe. They are moist and sweet and taste just like a slice of apple pie, so if you love pie and candy apples, you will love this cupcake recipe because it’s a mixture of sweet and salty.

The following recipe makes one dozen cupcakes but can be adjusted to make two dozen cupcakes by multiplying the ingredients by two.

Gluten-Free Apple Pie Spice Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups of Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons of apple pie spice
• 2/3 cup of light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup of cane sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 stick of salted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup of heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 3 medium honey crisp apples, peeled and finely chopped (about 2 cups)
• 1 cup of Reese’s peanut butter chips
• 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

Fall Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting Inspired by Laura, Food Blogger of Zest and Lemons:

• 1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese softened to room temperature
• 1 (8 ounce) package of mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick of salted butter
• 4 cups of powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons of apple pie spice
• ½ cup of heavy whipping cream

Caramel Sauce:

• 1 stick of salted butter
• 1 cup of light brown sugar
• ½ cup of heavy cream
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
•  Garnish: salted caramel and apple splices

Instructions For Making The Apple Spice Cupcake Batter

1. Gather all of your ingredients and begin measuring out all of your dry ingredients.

2. Whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, apple pie spice, baking soda, and baking powder in a large bowl. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together the butter, brown sugar, and cane sugar. Mix until light and fluffy. Then, add eggs and vanilla extract.

4. Add the dry ingredients, ½ cup at a time, then stir the batter thoroughly until the flour mixture is gone. Mix until all the ingredients are together, and scrape the bowl’s sides if necessary to make sure everything has been incorporated.

5. With the mixer on low, pour in the heavy cream while incorporating the flour mixture.

6. Let batter rest while you chop the apples. Once chopped, fold in the apple pieces along with the peanut butter chips using a baking spatula/spoon.

7. Place cupcake papers into a cupcake pan and fill the liners about ¾ full with the batter.

8. Bake cupcakes for twenty to twenty-two minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Instructions For Making The Frosting

1. In a medium-size bowl, beat the cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, and butter with an electric mixer until smooth. It’s important to make sure the cheeses and butter are softened before whipping.
2. Beat in the powdered sugar a little at a time until incorporated. Pour in the heavy whipping cream while adding in the sugar.
3. Add the salt, vanilla extract, and apple pie spice; beat until fluffy.
4. Cover the frosting with plastic wrap and set it in the refrigerator if you are not frosting the cupcakes right away.

Instructions For Making The Caramel Sauce:

1. Melt the butter in a small pot/saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add brown sugar and 2 Tablespoons of heavy cream.
2. Whisk constantly until sugar has dissolved. Whisk in the salt, then stop whisking as the mixture begins to simmer.
3. Simmer without stirring for two minutes. Whisk again to reduce the bubbles, then add the remaining amount of heavy cream.
4. Let the mixture come to a simmer again. This process will allow the caramel sauce to thicken.
5. Whisk a few more times, and make sure the mixture can coat the back of the spoon before taking it off the heat.
6. Remove from heat and cool for thirty minutes before using it to drizzle the cupcakes.

Assembling the Cupcakes and Decorations

1. Once the cupcakes are cool, you may begin to frost and decorate the cupcakes.
2. You may use a knife to place frosting on the cupcake or a pastry bag. I always use a pastry bag to make my cupcakes look pretty. Place an open star tip at the bottom of the piping bag before filling it with frosting. Cut the bottom of the bag, enough for the tip to come through, and begin swirling the cupcake with frosting.
3. You may decorate any way you wish too, but I added an apple slice and placed it in the middle of the cupcake, then drizzled caramel all over the cupcake.

Enjoy your sweet treat. I hope you have fun in the kitchen making this fall-inspired apple caramel cupcake.

Featured image by Jill Wellington courtesy of Pixabay