These Apple Spice Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting are super moist and have the wonderful flavors that you would expect in a traditional Fall dessert.
The Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting tops these apple spice cupcakes off with a rich and creamy nutty flavor.
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Flavors of Fall
These apple spice cupcakes are made using a traditional spice cake recipe and adding bits of apples. The cupcake is moist, delicious, and full of flavor!
The brown butter cream cheese frosting dials up the flavor from traditional cream cheese frosting found on spice cakes and cupcakes.
RELATED: Homemade Apple Fritters
Family Will Love These Cupcakes
This recipe makes 24 cupcakes which makes it great for Fall entertaining, get-together's, and even Thanksgiving dinners.
They're easy to make and don't really take that much active time from start to finish!
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
I love cream cheese frosting on my cupcakes but I absolutely love making Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting! It really kicks up the flavor in cupcakes that traditionally use cream cheese frosting. It adds a nutty flavor to the frosting that is rich, flavorful, and really tasty!
If you've never made this type of frosting before, give it a try!
It may look intimidating but if you take your time to reach the right temp and stir frequently, you can make it! The key is to brown the butter in a skillet and let it start to foam.
Once it does foam - you're close! Stir frequently until small bits of brown start to form. Remove from heat right away and pour it into a heat-safe bowl to cool. It is much easier than you think!
Ingredients in Apple Spice Cupcakes
- All Purpose Flour
- Ground Cinnamon
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Baking Soda
- Ground cloves
- Ground ginger
- Ground nutmeg
- Light brown sugar
- Eggs
- Applesauce
- Vanilla Extract
- Milk
- Molasses
- Apples
- Cream cheese
- Confectioner's sugar
How to Make Apple Spice Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
To make the apple spice cupcakes start by preheating the oven and lining a muffin tin with 24 liners.
Combine the dry ingredients- Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all other spices together in a medium bowl.
Blend the wet ingredients- Blend together the eggs, milk, brown sugar, applesauce, vanilla extract, and molasses.
Combine the wet with the dry ingredients- Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients being careful not to overmix.
Add the apples- Stir in the apples until just mixed.
Fill the liners- Fill the liners about ¾ of the way full.
Bake the cupcakes- Bake for about 15 minutes. The center of the cupcakes should come out clean with the poke of a toothpick.
To make the Brown butter cream cheese frosting prepare the butter ahead of time to save time.
Make the brown butter- Melt butter over medium heat in a skillet and stir frequently until melted. When the butter starts to foam it is close to browning.
Continuously stir until small bits of brown form on the bottom of the skillet. Once the butter begins to brown, remove it from the heat and transfer it to a heat-proof container to prevent the butter from burning.
Allow the butter to resolidify in the refrigerator for 1 hour or place it in the freezer for about 30 to 45 minutes to make the process quicker.
Make the frosting- Beat softened cream cheese together with the solid brown butter. Beat in the vanilla extract and add the confectioner's sugar a little at a time. Add a small amount of milk at a time until the desired consistency for the frosting is reached.
Garnish the cupcakes- After piping these cupcakes, sprinkle a cinnamon-sugar mixture on the frosting to give it a finished look. It adds more flavor to the cupcake, too!
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You may also enjoy this Apple Crumb Coffee Cake as well as these cupcake recipes:
📖 Recipe
Apple Spice Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Apple Spice Cupcakes
- 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 ¾ cups packed brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup applesauce - unsweet
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ tablespoon molasses
- 1 cup apple - diced small
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup butter
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoon milk - more as needed
Instructions
Apple Spice Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Line muffin tins with 24 liners.
- Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all other spices together in medium bowl.
- In large bowl blend together eggs, milk, brown sugar, applesauce, vanilla extract, and molasses.
- Mix wet mixture slowly into dry mixture until blended. Do not over mix.
- Lastly, slowly mix in diced apple.
- Fill liners about ¾ full and bake for about 15 minutes. Check with toothpick - it it comes out dry, they are done.
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- Melt butter over medium heat in a skillet and stir frequently until melted. When butter starts to foam it is close to browning.
- Stir until small brown bits start to show in the pan. Once it starts to brown, remove from heat and immediately pour it into a heat safe container.
- Store in fridge for 1 hour. You can also place in freezer for less time.
- Let it form back into a solid state. Just enough to mix easily.
- Once butter is back to correct form, use a mixer to blend cream cheese, butter, and vanilla.
- Slowly add in powdered sugar and add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time.
- Mix frosting until well combined and smooth. Add more milk to reach desired consistency.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate based on third-party calculations. Actual values may vary due to ingredients, measurements, and serving sizes.
© Mama Needs Cake
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Dana is an experienced recipe creator who crafts easy and delicious recipes for all levels of home cooks.
Her recipes range from classic comfort foods to healthy and nutritious meals, and she is always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to bring flavor and variety to the table.
Lauren Vavala | DeliciousLittleBites says
Wow! I love the flavors in these cupcakes, especially that frosting - yum! That little sparkle from the cinnamon sugar makes them look even more beautiful!
Cindy Gordon says
These are stunning! The taste is just perfect for fall! Thank you for this brown butter cream frosting! I have a new fav!
rebecca says
these are such pretty cupcakes! love this flavor combo so much
Mary Bostow says
These cupcakes are really impressive to me! They look incredibly beautiful! This is absolutely fantastic! So YUMMY! Is good food and this looks like one of the BEST!
Lauren Vavala | DeliciousLittleBites says
Wow! I love the flavors in these cupcakes, especially that frosting - yum! That little sparkle from the cinnamon sugar makes them look even more beautiful!
Cindy Gordon says
These are stunning! The taste is just perfect for fall! Thank you for this brown butter cream frosting! I have a new fav!
rebecca says
these are such pretty cupcakes! love this flavor combo so much
Sonal says
Love the flavors and spices going in this cupcake. Perfect for fall season.
Mary Bostow says
These cupcakes are really impressive to me! They look incredibly beautiful! This is absolutely fantastic! So YUMMY! Is good food and this looks like one of the BEST!
Holly Bird says
These look yummy! Can’t wait to try them!! Thanksgiving morning I do a huge breakfast early for friends and family these will be great!
Ayla Boswell says
Omg looks so delicious! Would be perfect for a Christmas party.
Holly Bird says
These look yummy! Can’t wait to try them!! Thanksgiving morning I do a huge breakfast early for friends and family these will be great!
Ayla Boswell says
Omg looks so delicious! Would be perfect for a Christmas party.
Kimberly says
These are so good! I didn’t have applesauce so I busted out some homemade chunky applesauce and absolutely love these! They don’t even need frosting but since it’s there already...yum yum!
Kimberly says
These are so good! I didn’t have applesauce so I busted out some homemade chunky applesauce and absolutely love these! They don’t even need frosting but since it’s there already...yum yum!
Dana says
Thanks so much for sharing that you like these cupcakes! The homemade chunky applesauce sounds delicious!
Mackenzie says
These turned out great! They’re delicious!