Applesauce Spice Cupcakes
A fresh Applesauce Spice Cupcake with a hot cup of coffee or tea warms your heart and soul.
Recipe type: Dessert | Cupcakes | Butter Cakes
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Recipe Notes
Pan: Two Standard 12-Cup Muffin Pans Pan Prep: Paper Liners Oven Temp: 350° Yield: 30 Cupcakes Storage: Cover and Refrigerate
Help: Cake Hints and Tips
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Help: Cake Hints and Tips
TheBakingPan Recommends: The BEST instant read thermometer I’ve used for cooking and baking; the ThermoWorks Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen Thermometer is incredibly fast,
accurate, and well worth the investment. I use my Thermapen Thermometer for checking room temperature ingredients, tempering chocolate, baking bread, making pastry creams, sugar syrup, caramel, and candy, cooking meats and fish, and deep frying. Thermapen Thermometer available here.Ingredients
Batter:
- ½ cup raisins
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ cups sweetened applesauce
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup pure maple syrup, preferably grade B
- 4 cups confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two standard 12-cup muffin pans; line with paper cupcake liners.
Batter:
- Plump the raisins by steaming with a double boiler; steam the raisins about 1 minute or until softened. Thoroughly drain, or spread the raisins on paper toweling to dry. Tip: Create a double boiler by filling a saucepan with 2 inches of water and bringing it to a simmer. Place a steamer or plastic or wire mesh colander on top of the simmering water, the upper pan should not touch the water. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg; sift or whisk together to mix. Set aside.
- In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Tip: To cream, start by placing the butter in the bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed begin by beating the butter about 1 minute until it is smooth and light in color. With the mixer still on medium speed, slowly add the granulated sugar to the butter, either one tablespoon at a time, or in a very slow steady stream, taking from 4 to 5 minutes to add all of the sugar, then add the brown sugar, taking an additional 3 to 4 minutes, beating until the butter and sugar are fully incorporated and the mixture is a light, or pale color, with a fluffy texture. While adding the sugars, stop the mixer occasionally to scrape the mixture off the paddle and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula so the mixture blends evenly.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating until thoroughly mixed. Tip: For each egg, crack the egg into a small bowl and whisk with a fork to thoroughly break up the egg before adding to the creamed mixture. Start with the mixer on low speed so the liquid from the egg doesn’t splatter, once the egg is partially mixed increase the speed to medium. Each egg should be fully incorporated into the mixture before adding the next egg, taking about one minute to blend in each egg.
- With the mixer on low speed, add about one third of the flour mixture, mix just until the flour is almost completely blended. Scrape the bowl down, and add about one half of the applesauce, blending just until mixed. Scrape the bowl down again and continue alternating with the flour mixture and applesauce, ending with the last portion of the flour, and stirring just until blended.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the raisins.
- Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners. Fill ⅔ full, using about ¼ cup of batter per cup. Tip: Avoid over-filling the liners which may cause the batter to run-over the sides when baking. It is better to bake any remaining batter separately after the first pan of cupcakes has finished baking.
- Bake: Bake, rotating pan halfway through, 18 to 20 minutes, or until the cakes are just firm and spring back when gently pressed, and a toothpick, wooden skewer, or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly in cupcake pan, and turn out of pan when cool enough to handle. Repeat process with any remaining batter. Cool cupcakes completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting.
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, and maple syrup; use an electric hand mixer or wooden spoon and beat together until mixture is smooth. Add powdered sugar; beat until frosting is smooth and creamy.
- Use a small offset spatula to frost the top of each cupcake, or use a pastry bag and decorating tip to pipe the frosting. Tip: If frosting seems too soft for piping, refrigerate 30 minutes or longer for the desired consistency.
- Refrigerate frosted cupcakes until ready to serve. Refrigerate leftovers.