Honey Apple Cupcakes
Enjoy a taste of Autumn with these delicious honey apple cupcakes! A honey sponge filled with a spiced apple compote, topped with creamy honey buttercream and a dried apple slice!
Ingredients
Sponges
- 170 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 170 g caster sugar
- 1 tbsp clear runny honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 170 g plain flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch table salt
- 1 tbsp milk whole or semi-skimmed
Dried Apple
- 1 royal gala apple
Apple Compote
- 125 g chopped royal gala apple about 1.5 apples
- 15 g unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp water
- 15 g caster sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 10 ml lemon juice
Buttercream
- 180 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 250 g icing sugar
- 20 g clear runny honey
- 2 tbsp milk whole or semi-skimmed
Instructions
- For the dried apple decoration: Firstly, preheat the oven to 140C/120C Fan/Gas Mark 1. Very thinly slice (or use a mandolin) the apple and lay flat on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 50 minutes until crisp, then set aside.
- For the apple compote: Peel, core and chop the apples into small chunks and place into a saucepan. Then add the butter, water, caster sugar, cinnamon stick, lemon juice and stir to combine. Place over a medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, breaking up the apples as they start to soften. Keep cooking until the apples start to caramelise, then take off the heat. Discard the cinnamon stick, then mash the apples until they are broken down. Then spread onto a plate to cool and set aside.
- For the sponge: Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas Mark 4, and line one or two large cupcake/muffin tin(s) with 8 cupcake/muffin cases. Then set aside. Place the butter into a large bowl and beat with an electric hand-whisk until light and fluffy. Then beat in the sugar until well combined and fluffy. Then add the honey, vanilla, and the eggs one at a time – beating well between each addition. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Then beat into the wet batter in three additions, mixing until just combined each time. Finally, beat in the milk until just combined and divide the batter between the cupcake/muffin cases.
- Bake for 23 minutes, until the cupcakes are a golden brown and springy to the touch. Place the cupcakes onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
- For the buttercream: Place the butter into a medium bowl and whisk with an electric whisk for a few minutes until creamy and pale in colour. Then add the icing sugar, and whisk on a low speed until combined. Then turn up the speed and whisk on high for 4-5 minutes until very light and fluffy. Finally, add the honey and milk and whisk again until combined. Then spoon into a piping bag fitted with a star tip (I used Wilton 2D).
- To assemble: Using either an apple corer or small paring knife, core the cooled cupcakes and fill each with the apple compote to the brim. Then pipe swirls of buttercream on top of each cupcake, covering the compote filled hole. Finally, place a dried apple slice into the top of each cupcake, just before serving.
Notes
Cupcakes will keep well in an air-tight container for 3-4 days.