Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
In a mixing bowl, whisk all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Add in milk, vegetable oil, sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined with the dry ingredients. Do not overmix.
Portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners using a large cookie scoop, about ¾ full.
Bake for 20 minutes until the tops of the cupcakes bounce back slightly when touched.
Remove the cupcake pan from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Before making the salted caramel buttercream frosting, you will need to make salted caramel sauce. Check out the blog post and make one recipe! The caramel sauce should be at room temperature before adding to the buttercream frosting.
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip room temperature unsalted butter for 5 minutes on medium-high speed, scraping down the sides occasionally. The butter will become light, fluffy, and pale in color.
Add in the powdered sugar in two batches, mixing on low speed in between each addition until well combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is well mixed.
Add vanilla extract and salt and continue to mix on low speed.
Drizzle in the salted caramel sauce and continue to mix on low speed.
Turn the speed on the mixer to medium speed and whip for 3 minutes until the buttercream is light and fluffy.

Combine peeled and diced apples, granulated sugar, 2 tbsp water, lemon juice and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Mix to combine.
Place over medium-low heat and cook for approximately 10 minutes stirring occasionally until the apples are softened.
In a separate small bowl, combine 1 tbsp water and cornstarch to create a slurry.
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the cornstarch slurry to the apples and immediately mix well to combine. The mixture will thicken.
Transfer to a heatproof container to cool to room temperature before using.

Use an apple corer, paring knife, or teaspoon to core the center of the cupcakes, about ⅔ of the way down.
Fill a piping bag with the cinnamon apple filling and pipe into the center of the cupcakes. I like to overfill the cupcakes for extra apple flavor.
Use a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M tip to create an ice cream swirl of salted caramel buttercream frosting. Use a piping bag or spoon to drizzle additional salted caramel sauce over the top of the cupcakes.

Caramel apple cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To serve, bring the cupcakes to room temperature.

Metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.