Applesauce Cupcakes

These spiced Applesauce Cupcakes make a delicious and easy treat for fall or any season for that matter. Moist and flavorful cake made with applesauce and spices is topped with the most luxurious brown butter cream cheese frosting. You’re in for a treat! 

Decadent Cupcakes for Fall

I love yummy cakes for fall. Between cakes and cupcakes, I’ve shared several that were inspired by the autumn season. In this post, I’m adding another to the list with these Applesauce Cupcakes.

Because they are apple-based and spiced with traditional fall spices, I’d say these are best served in the fall and winter. However, I encourage you to be a rule breaker and make them any time you’d like. 

The cake base of these applesauce cupcakes is moist and flavorful thanks to the applesauce and spices. I decided to take these over the top and really indulge by topping them with my new favorite frosting: brown butter cream cheese frosting. Friend, it’s a match made in heaven. SO GOOD!

To add a little color and flair I garnished each of these cupcakes with an apple slice. It’s simple but so effective! 

Love apple? Here are a few more tasty apple desserts:

• Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies
• Frosted Apple Cider Cookies
• Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Spread
• Apple Pie Sangria
• Salted Caramel Apple Pie
• Spiced Apple Cake Cookies

I also had some of these adorable pumpkin picks that I found at HomeGoods last year, so I thought I would tuck those in as well. It instantly took these cupcakes from a fall dessert to a Halloween dessert. I like to give you options. Go fall or go Halloween. The choice is yours. 

Either way, let’s make some applesauce cupcakes! 

Ingredients: 

I love that the ingredient list for this recipe is quite basic. I assume you’ll have most of these things in your kitchen already. Let’s run through the list to double-check.

• unsalted butter
• sugar
• eggs
• vanilla extract
• all-purpose flour 
• baking powder
• baking soda
• salt
• ground cinnamon
• apple pie spice
• applesauce (I used cinnamon applesauce.)
• apple slices (with lemon juice)
• brown butter cream cheese frosting

How to Make These Cupcakes:

I’ll walk you through the steps here, but for your convenience, I’ve also provided a detailed ingredient list and instructions in the printable recipe card below. 

1. Begin by setting your oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar. 
3. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. 
4. Beat in the vanilla. 
5. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and apple pie spice. 
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet alternating with the applesauce. 
7. Mix until just combined. 

8. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. 
9. Fill each cup two-thirds full. 

10. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. 
11. Allow to cool.
12. Frost with brown butter cream cheese frosting. 

13. Garnish with an apple slice.

Voila! Your applesauce cupcakes are ready to be served! 

I think they turned out so beautifully. Simple, flavorful, and ideal for the season. 

And how sweet are they with the cute little jack-o-lantern picks? LOVE! 

Now, a few notes before you start baking. 

Recipe Notes

If you don’t have apple pie spice, don’t panic. You can just use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. Alternatively, you could even use pumpkin pie spice. (If you didn’t know, there’s no ‘pumpkin flavor’ in pumpkin pie spice.)

For this recipe, I’ve used my brown butter cream cheese frosting. I didn’t include the recipe for that in this post. I highly recommend this combination, but feel free to use whatever frosting you like best.

My applesauce cupcakes are garnished with sliced apples. I recommend splashing your apple slices with a bit of lemon juice to prevent browning. Dry them off on a paper towel and insert them into your cupcakes just before serving.

Bake, Serve, and Enjoy!

That’s a wrap on these applesauce cupcakes. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. And wait until you try that brown butter cream cheese frosting. It’s pure bliss!
Happy Fall Baking!

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Applesauce Cupcakes

These spiced Applesauce Cupcakes make a delicious and easy treat for fall or any season for that matter. Moist and flavorful cake made with applesauce and spices is topped with the most luxurious brown butter cream cheese frosting. You’re in for a treat!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apple cake, applesauce, brown butter, cream cheese frosting, cupcakes

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 cupcakes

Calories: 398kcal

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup butter softened
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
• ¾ cup applesauce
• apple slices in lemon juice to garnish
• 1/2 batch brown butter cream cheese frosting

Instructions

• Begin by setting your oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer) cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
• In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and apple pie spice.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet alternating with the applesauce. Mix until just combined.
• Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each cup two-thirds full. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
• Allow to cool, then frost with brown butter cream cheese frosting. Use a piping bag and a large closed star tip. Garnish with an apple slice.

Notes

If you don’t have apple pie spice, don’t panic. You can just use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. Alternatively, you could even use pumpkin pie spice.

For this recipe, I’ve used my brown butter cream cheese frosting. I didn’t include the recipe for that in this post. You can find that frosting recipe HERE. I highly recommend this combination, but feel free to use whatever frosting you like best.

I garnished my applesauce cupcakes with sliced apples. I recommend splashing your apple slices with a bit of lemon juice to prevent browning. Dry them off on a paper towel and insert them into your cupcakes just before serving.

You can find the large closed star piping tip I used for this recipe HERE.

Nutrition

Calories: 398kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 338mg | Potassium: 60mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 50g | Vitamin A: 203IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1mg