So how is this beauty built? Well, we first made a very basic cupcake batter recipe, added some ground hazelnuts for the nutty flavor and texture. The cupcakes on itself are soft, delicious and great, but because we know they are even better with a delicious filling, lets continue with our cupcake building process. When the cupcakes are baked and at room temperature, it’s time to cut out a little circle in the middle of each cupcake to make place for that aromatic apple cinnamon filling.
Yup, as I mentioned a million times in this post, these wonderful hazelnuts cupcakes are filled with the most delicious, tasty, apple filling. We are talking diced cooked apples with cinnamon, all spice, brown sugar, caramelized and golden, mmm. This topping reminds us of Christmas but it’s perfect for any cold autumn / winter day.
For the grand finale don’t forget to give each cupcake a wonderful yogurt - mascarpone hat. The yogurt topping gives this cupcake a beautiful, light and creamy texture we all like. It’s fresh and delicious. But the real magic maker is Jernej’s favorite part of this dessert - the salted caramel. Oh my, that’s a game changer for sure. The salt in the caramel + the hazelnut cupcake filled with apple filling creates that umami we all love, search and adore.
So why exactly should you make these wonderful Apple Pie Cupcakes?
Well, they taste like apple pie, but are made waaaaaay faster, like hours faster. In 40 minutes only. Also the base, the hazelnut cupcake is soft, spongy, nutty. The cinnamon apple filling is to die for, the best way to describe it is that it literally melts in your mouth and the apple cubes are just the loveliest surprise. The yogurt - mascarpone cream is fresh, light and not too sweet, which creates a lovely balance and of course, our main game changer, the salted caramel. That’s just the top of the iceberg, the queen of caramels for this dessert. Your taste buds will love you forever and your loved ones will adore you for making them these fantastic Apple Pie Cupcakes with Salted Caramel.
METHOD
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Salted caramel
First prepare the salted caramel. Add sugar to a saucepan. Place over medium - high heat and leave until the sugar dissolves and becomes a nice, golden caramel. In a separate bowl bring whipping cream to a boil. Pour the whipping cream over the caramel in a saucepan and cook for about 2 - 3 minutes, stirring constantly. You will get a nice, creamy caramel. Remove from the heat, add a generous pinch of salt and set aside. Leave the caramel to cool to room temperature.
TipThe caramel is very very hot so don't eat it until it cools to room temperature or you might get burnt. -
Apple filling
Prepare the apple filling: Peel the apples, remove the core and dice them on small cubes. Place a saucepan with butter over medium - high heat. Add the diced apples and cook for about 5 minutes for apples to soften a bit. Add the sugar and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the corn starch and apple juice and cook for another minute. If needed add more sugar, sometimes the apples aren't sweet, depending on your taste. We usually don't like our desserts too sweet. Add ground cinnamon, ground all spice and lemon juice. Stir to combine and remove from the heat. Set aside for about 30 minut or until the mixture is at room temperature.
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Yogurt topping
In a bowl mix mascarpone with an electric mixer. Add icing sugar, vanilla essence, lemon juice and yogurt. Mix for another minute. In a separate, clean bowl mix whipping cream until you get soft peak. Incorporate the whipped cream into your mascarpone mixture. Transfer the yogurt mixture to a pipping bag, fitted with a 1 cm (1/2 inch) round tip. Place in the fridge for 15 minut.
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prepare the cupcake batter
In a bowl, stir to combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, pinch of salt and ground hazelnuts. Add butter and sugar to a separate bowl. Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Occasionally scrape down sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. At low speed, add eggs, one at a time, incorporating each egg into mixture before adding the next.
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prepare the cupcake batter
Add sour cream (or skyr) to the butter mixture, mix. Then add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, hazelnuts) and mix until just combined. Preheat your oven to 180 °C / 355 °C.
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Bake the cupcakes
Divide the cupcake batter into 12-cup muffin tin lined with paper liners. Fill the cupcake liners for about 3/4. Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes at 180°C / 355 °C or until nice and golden. When the cupcakes are baked, remove them from the oven and let them come to room temperature.
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Apple Pie Cupcakes with Yogurt Topping
With an apple core cutter, or a teaspoon, cut out a circle in the center of the cupcake, going about 3/4 way down into the cupcake. Fill each cupcake with the apple filling, then top with a generous amount of yogurt cream topping and add a drizzle or two of salted caramel. Enjoy. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container for up to three days. Decorate just before serving.
