Applesauce-Spice Cupcakes with Brown-Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

As the weather gets colder and I find myself walking through piles of fallen leaves on my way to class I can't seem to stop thinking about spicy fall flavors. I have been eating cut up apples with cinnamon sprinkled over them for the past few weeks so why not make my favorite snack into a delicious little cupcake!?


I have never made a cupcake with any sort of fruit flavors or spices until this cupcake so why not make this new cupcake adventure into my very first blog post! Two adventures being combined into one, oh what an adventurous college student I am, spending my days making cupcakes and posting them on a blog.

Back to the baking.
I started this cupcake by mixing together some of my dry ingredients and oh my did it smell like fall

I was already so excited at this point I just wanted to lick to spices right off my stirring fork...but that would taste bad so I didn't

Then I creamed my sugars and butter in my handy-dandy electric mixer

I would eat that off the spoon too if I didn't remind myself that no normal person just eats butter and sugar.

After adding some eggs,apple sauce, and the flour mix I allowed myself to taste the batter

It was freaking delicious...just saying

So I divided it into the tin, let the oven do its magic and bam!

They smelled soooooo good so while they were cooling it was time to make some uh-mazing frosting!

So I beat all of my frosting stuff together in my electric mixer

Oh man I had such a wonderful time licking the spatula....

But alas I needed to frost my pretty little cakes.

After I got em' to look pretty for the first time in my life I finally got to eat one!

So gooooood. Make these. Eat them. That is my advice.


Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes by Martha Stewart

Applesauce-Spice Cupcakes
Yields 18
(* see bellow)

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 pinch ground cloves
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature*
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed golden-brown sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2.In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves

3.With an electric mixer, cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy

4.Add eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated

5.Add applesauce, mix until combined

6.Add flour mixture, mix until combined

7.Divide batter evenly among cups and bake for approximately 17-20 minutes

8.Cool on wire racks before frosting

(I used regular salted sweet cream butter, if you use unsalted butter add an additional 1/4 teaspoon salt in step 2)


Brown-Sugar Cream-Cheese Frosting
Yields 2 1/2 Cups

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup packed golden-brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (plus additional for garnish)

1. With electric mixer on high-speed beat all ingredients together

2.Frost cupcakes

3. Lightly sprinkle cinnamon over the top of cupcakes

4. Enjoy!