Apple Pie Cupcakes

My dad brought me another big haul of apples from his garden last week. I wanted to use them to do something different for lunch, when my sister and her children were visiting.  I came up with a twist on an apple pie-  apple pie cupcake! I told my niece that the cake had a surprise inside. She first licked off all the icing and then an hour later ate the cake part and declared "Apple!"

The batter needs to be quite thick to stop the apple from sinking to the bottom, so don't over mix it.



Ingredients
225g unsalted butter
225g caster sugar
4 eggs
225g flour
3 eating apples
1/2 tsp cinammon
50ml water
1  tbsp light Muscavdo sugar

For the icing:
150g light cream cheese
300g icing sugar
55g butter
1 tsp vanilla

Method

1) Peel and chop the apples into small chunks. Put them in a saucepan with the water and Muscavado sugar and cinnamon and heat on a medium heat until bubbling, softened and most of the liquid has evaporated. Take off the heat and allow to cool.



2) Cream the butter and sugar until smooth.
3) Add an egg at a time, mixing each one until well-combined.
4) Sift the flour and mix it through until you have a thick, smooth batter.



5) Fill cupcake cases 3/4 full and then put a teaspoon of the cooled apple mixture on top. Cover this with a teaspoon of cake mixture. Make sure the apple has cooled or it will melt the cake mixture and sink through!


6) Bake at 170 (160 fan), Gas mark 4,  for 18 minutes or until golden on the top.


7)  Blend the icing ingredients together. Keep whisking until any lumps of icing sugar have disappeared. Use an icing bag to pipe the icing onto the cupcakes once they are completely cool (otherwise it will melt and slide off!)



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