Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes
Celebrate apple season with these apple cinnamon cupcakes! The cupcakes are made with fluffy apple cinnamon cupcakes, swirled with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, and topped with a dusting of cinnamon sugar and a sweet apple slice.
Ingredients for Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes
Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Unsalted butter – Room temperature.
- Vegetable oil – Use your favorite neutral baking oil.
- Granulated sugar
- Egg – Large egg, room temperature.
- Vanilla extract – Pure vanilla extract adds great underlying vanilla flavor.
- Milk – Room temperature.
- Apples – Peeled and finely grated. I recommend using a food processor to pulse the apples. The best apples to use for this recipe include Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Fuji, Gala, or Granny Smith. Essentially any apples you would use to bake an apple pie.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Unsalted butter – Room temperature.
- Cream cheese – Room temperature.
- Powdered sugar – Confectioners’ sugar/icing sugar.
- Vanilla extract – Pure vanilla extract adds amazing vanilla flavor and enhances the flavor of the cinnamon.
- Cinnamon
- Salt – A bit of salt contrasts the sweetness of the frosting.
Additional Ingredients
- Cinnamon + granulated sugar – To make a cinnamon sugar topping.
- Apple slices – I recommend adding the apple slices immediately before serving to prevent the apples from browning.
How to Make Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes
- Prep and preheat: Preheat the oven to 350℉ (177℃). Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
- Make the cupcake batter: Whisk together the dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt). Set aside. Cream the granulated sugar, butter, and vegetable oil until combined and smooth. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix well. Alternate adding the flour mixture with the milk, mixing in between, until the batter is combined and smooth. Fold in the grated apples.
- Bake the cupcakes: Portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners using a large cookie scoop (about 3/4 full). Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the frosting: Cream the unsalted butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt. Mix on low speed until the ingredients are well combined. Turn the mixer to medium speed and whip the frosting for 2 to 3 minutes until it is smooth and creamy.
- Assemble the cupcakes: Fill a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 2D piping tip with the cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Pipe a generous swirl of frosting onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle the cupcakes with cinnamon sugar and garnish with an apple slice.
Recipe Tips
- Check out my baking tips posts on 10 Tips for Baking Perfect Cupcakes and 10 Tips for Making Perfect Buttercream to learn simple tips and tricks to make the most out of this recipe.
- To make the finely grated apples, I recommend using a food processor to pulse the apples. Be sure to peel the apples and cut them into chunks before grating. If you do not have a food processor, you can use a box grater.
- To prevent the apple slices from browning, brush a little bit of lemon juice to prevent oxidation. I also recommend adding the apple slice garnishes immediately before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I store the cupcakes?
- Store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
- Serve the cupcakes at room temperature for the best taste and texture.
What varieties of apples are best for baking?
- My favorite baking apples are Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, Crispin, Jonahold, and Ida Red.
- For this recipe, I used Pink Lady apples.
Can I use a different kind of frosting if I don’t like cream cheese?
- Yes! Check out my recipe for cinnamon buttercream frosting if you are not a fan of cream cheese frosting.
Other Cupcake Recipes You Will Love
- Apple crisp cupcakes
- Caramel apple cupcakes
- Pumpkin spice cupcakes
- Brown butter cupcakes
- Pumpkin Biscoff cupcakes
click the stars to rate!
Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Celebrate apple season with these apple cinnamon cupcakes! The cupcakes are made with fluffy apple cinnamon cupcakes, swirled with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, and topped with a dusting of cinnamon sugar and a sweet apple slice.
Equipment
Ingredients
Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cup (156 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp (1 tsp) baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp (1 tsp) ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 (1) large egg room temperature
- 2 tsp (2 tsp) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 ml) milk room temperature
- ¾ cup (94 g) finely grated apples *see recipe tips for more information
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 oz (113 g) cream cheese room temperature
- 3 ½ cups (420 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp (2 tsp) vanilla extract
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
Additional Ingredients
- 2 tbsp (24 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) ground cinnamon
- 12 (12) apple slices
Instructions
Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (177℃). Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream the granulated sugar, unsalted butter, and vegetable oil until smooth and creamy. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until mostly combined. Add in the milk and continue to mix until incorporated. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until the batter is well combined and smooth. Fold in the finely grated apples.
- Portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners using a large cookie scoop about ¾ full. Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes or until the cupcakes bounces back when gently touched. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream the unsalted butter and cream cheese for about 5 minutes until it is light and creamy.
- Add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until fully combined. Add in the vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt and mix well. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Turn the mixer to medium speed and whip the frosting for 2 to 3 minutes until it is smooth and creamy. Turn the mixer to the lowest speed and mix the frosting for several minutes to remove any air bubbles.
Assembling the Cupcakes
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 2D piping tip with the cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Pipe a generous swirl of frosting onto the cupcakes. Stir together the additional granulated sugar and cinnamon to create cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the frosted cupcakes. Garnish the cupcakes with apple slices.
Notes
- Store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Serve at room temperature for the best taste and texture.
Made This Recipe?
Please leave a comment with a star rating to let me know how you enjoyed the recipe!
About Courtney
Baker | 80s Lover | Cookbook Author
Courtney is a self-taught home baker and cookbook author of “Girls Just Wanna Bake Cupcakes”. She loves to create new and unique recipes while simultaneously listening to 80s music.
She did not say anything about the filling in the recipe. I came from her tiktok video where she showed a yummy apple filling for the cupcake, then when i go to the recipe theres no instructions on how to make it. I had to improvise and find a completely different recipe for that.
Hi there! I think you may be referring to my caramel apple cupcakes which have an apple cinnamon filling. This recipe is an apple spice cake and does not contain a filling.
Looks like a cupcake that I would like to try. I really like cream cheese frosting especially with cinnamon put on top.
The cinnamon cream cheese frosting definitely takes the recipe over the top!