Thank you everyone for being so excited about my ravioli post. It was my most popular blog entry yet!
This past weekend I went apple picking. It was really hot that day, so I actually had some frozen lemonade after!
I had actually been planning on this recipe in a vague form even before I decided to go apple picking. In fact, this is specifically why I wanted to go. Now I need to go apple picking every year, because I have realized fresh picked apples are so much tastier than ones bought in the store.
Of course, I bought more apples than I knew what to do with (figuratively not literally basically) so I had to make some things with them. I don’t know why I just said that because that was part of the plan, but it sounds better that way? Don’t mind me…
Fresh-picked Apple Cupcakes with Apple Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting Drizzled with Homemade Apple Syrup
Makes a dozen cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the Apple Cinnamon Syrup:
- 1 cup coconut palm sugar
- 1 cup organic evaporated cane juice
- 2 cups water
- 5-6 red apples worth of peels
- 2 cinnamon sticks
For the cupcakes:
- 2 cups apples diced small
- 1 cup organic evaporated cane juice (vegan white sugar)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup applesauce
- 1 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup almond milk
For the frosting:
- 1/4 cup earth balance
- 1/4 cup vegan non-hydrogenated shortening
- 2 cup powdered sugar
- 4 tbsp apple cinnamon syrup
- 1 tbsp almond milk or other non dairy milk of choice
Directions:
For the apple cinnamon syrup:
- Stir together the sugars and water in a saucepan.
- Peel the apples and place the peels into the pan.
- Make sure you save the meat of the apples for the cupcakes and possible other things you may choose to make or eat as is.
- Add the cinnamon sticks.
- Simmer for about 45 minutes. You can have it on a medium low heat and then turn it to the lowest heat once it starts to bubble a bit.
- After 45 minutes, take off heat and allow to cool slightly. Your kitchen will smell amazing, by the way.
- Strain into a container. Discard the apple peels and cinnamon.
- Refrigerate until ready to use for the frosting. You’ll have quite a bit of extra syrup that you can use in drinks or whatever your heart desires. I’m going to use it to make a vegan roasted peanut recipe, so you may want to save some of it for when that posts!
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix the apples and evaporated cane juice in a mixing bowl and let sit for ten minutes.
- Add in the vegetable oil, vanilla, and apple sauce. Stir to combine.
- Fold in the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Add the almond milk and stir to combine.
- Place batter into twelve cupcake liners in a muffin pan. You’ll want to fill them up more than typical cupcakes. Spread the batter out as evenly as you can into eat. I used about 2 huge heaping tablespoons in each.
- Bake for at least 20 minutes. It took my cupcakes about 24 minutes to be done. After the 20 minutes I took a toothpick and checked the middle and continued to do this every so often until they were golden brown and the toothpick came out clear.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
To make the frosting:
- Cream together the Earth Balance and shortening with an electic mixer.
- Add in the powdered sugar and mix until crumbly.
- Add the syrup and almond milk and mix until smooth.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix a bit more to ensure everything is mixed together.
To assemble:
- I like to put the frosting into a ziplock bag and snip off a corner to use as a pastry bag.
- Pipe frosting onto the cupcake in your desired arrangement.
- Drizzle extra syrup or sprinkle cinnamon on top.
So good!
PS: Today I also made Isa Chandra Moscowitz’ Kale Salad from Isa Does It. It has butternut squash and lentils and the dressing is so good. I ate it with some Earth Balance Mac and Cheese.
Banana Curl, Vegan Girl 