A Time for Change and a Time for Cupcakes 2

Hello Friends!

Thanks for all the support, my hand is much better and I am feeling pretty good.  So on to the cupcakes.  I have been planning to make these cupcakes  since I was in Nantucket. It was to be my back to school Apple-Spice  Cupcake post, perfect right? But I have had an idea brewing for a while and I started to put it into action I returned from Nantucket. With a push  help of my friend Dana, I had applied to IVY Tech. So school and I have never gotten along. We are really sworn enemies and honestly I am terrified of going back. But I am going back to school with a plan. I want to go into nursing. 

Just a week or so later I finally got a phone call from IVY Tech. I was accepted.  So I am starting school in January and I will have 1 to 1.5  years of prerequisites before I can apply to the nursing program. Nursing will be at least 2 years. 

I am really excited/terrified to be going back to school. But my going to school is also  changing my priorities. I have a few more delicious posts to share with you all before I put this blog on hold. I can not go to school, work full time and have a blog. But I will be blogging up to the 2nd week of October, I have some awesome fall recipes and a few good oldies. But please check back because if I bake at all during the next years it will be posted for you all.  

These cupcake are such a treat. Do you remember the used cookbook I got in Nantucket, this is one of the recipes from Something Warm from the Oven . With a new cookbook I normally like to make 2-3 recipes and judge that cookbook on those recipes. I have only made these Apple-Spcie Cupcakes but this book has been judged AWESOME! I love how very autum-y and delicious they are. I love how the smell of apples, cinnamon and vanilla waft though the house. These cupcakes are divine and perfect for a fall treat. If I made these Apple-Spice cupcakes again I would most likely use this cream cheese buttercream. It will flow better and make a much sweeter (less sticky) frosting for these enchanting mini cupcakes. Enjoy!

Cheers, Kate

Apple-Spice Cupcakes

Something Warm from the Oven

Makes 1 dozen cupcakes

1 small, tart Granny Smith apple, peeled and cored and finely chopped to measure 1/2 cup

1 tablespoon Calvados or any other apple brandy- I used Apple Cider

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

1 large egg, room temperature

1 cup sifted cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/28 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon instant coffee granules

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

6 tablespoons apple juice or apple cider

1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Line a muffin tin with baking cups.

Place the apple in a small bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon Calvados or apple cider. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar until fluffy, occasionally stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Blend in the vanilla. Add the egg and beat well.  

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, coffee granulates, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Stir in the apples and lightly toss in the flour mixture. Add in 1/2 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating until just incorporated. Add in the apple juice or cider. Finish up with the remaining flour mixture.  Stir in the nuts.  

Drop the batter by spoonfuls into the lined cups to about half full, Bake in the oven for 20 -25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool thoroughly before frosting. 

Carmel Frosting

Something Warm from the Oven

6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
2 medium egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Makes enough to frost 1 dozen cupcakes. (double the recipe to fill and frost two9-inch layers)

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and 1 1/2 tablespoons water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly and scraping the sides and bottom of the pan with a heat resistant rubber spatula.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer without stirring until it reaches the thread stage (230˚F to 234˚F) 2 to 3 minutes. 

Meanwhile, beat the egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Pour the hot syrup over the egg whites in a slow, steady stream as you continue beating, until the frosting is stiff and glossy. Blend in the vanilla.