Apple Crumble Cupcakes

Whenever I try a new cupcake recipe I always take them into work, so I should have been expecting my work friends to start demanding cupcakes for their birthday. So in honour of Pete - the kitchen manager's birthday, and to cheer people in work up in this terrible weather I decided to make Apple Crumble Cupcakes. This recipe is based on a recipe by the Hummingbird Bakery, but i used a different icing, instead of custard icing, I used cinnamon cream cheese frosting. I have decorated these cupcakes with little apples made from red and green fondant icing.

 

 Preheat the oven to 190 C, fill a muffin tray with muffin cases and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

For the Filling:

 

• 5 Green Eating Apples
• 30g Unsalted Butter
• 50g Light Brown Sugar
•  ¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon

Peel, core and chop the apples into small cubes. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat, then add the apples, sugar and cinnamon. Give it a good stir to make sure the apples are covered in the spice mixture, then let them stew until the apples are soft and cooked but not mushy.

For the Cupcakes:

• 80g Unsalted Butter
• 280g Caster Sugar
• 240g Plain Flour
• 1 tbsp Baking Powder
• ¼ tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 2 Large Eggs
• 240ml Whole Milk

 

Beat together the butter, suagr, flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon until they combine to the texture of fine breadcrumbs.

 

Break eggs into a jug and add milk and whisk together. Add three quaters of the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and mix together on a low speed. Add the rest of the liquid mixture and mix on a medium speed.

 

Spoon the mixture into the cases, filling to about two thirds full. Place in the oven and bake for about 18-20 minutes. Once cooked allow to cool, then core and fill with the apple filling you made earlier.

 

For Frosting:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 cups icing sugar
• 1/4 tspnvanilla extract
• 6oz cream cheese
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until well-combined. Frost cupcakes with a knife, or with a frosting bag fitted with a large round tip.


For Crumble Topping:

• 55g Plain Flour
• 55g Rolled Oats
• Pinch of Cinnamon
• 55g Butter
• 40g Soft Light Brown Sugar

 

Mix flour, oats and cinnamon in a bowl. Add butter and rub in using fingertips, until all the ingredients have come together in an even, curmble like consistency. Finnaly add the sugar making sure its evenly mixed in.

 

Spread the crumble mix on a paper-lined baking tray in the oven for about 15 minutes, checking at regular intervals and gently stiring the crumbs around to make sure they brown evenly. Once the crumbs are golden, remove them from the oven and set aside to cool.