Apple Pie Cupcakes are perfectly spiced, tender cupcakes baked with apple pie filling and topped with stabilized whipped cream. So tender and delicious! They are reminiscent of a slice of apple pie but in convenient cupcake form!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Apples: I prefer to use Granny Smith apples for the filling as they hold up beautifully when baked or fried. Fuji, Cortland, Braeburn, and Honeycrisp apples would also be delicious options. Or, use a combination of apples!
Spices: I chose to use cinnamon in the apple filling and both cinnamon and nutmeg in the cupcakes. These warm spices are such a great complement to the apples to bring out that classic apple pie filling flavor.
Stabilized Whipped Cream: Stabilized whipped cream has better staying power when piped onto the cupcakes. Of course, regular whipped cream or even vanilla ice cream would also be delicious!
Can I use Canned Apple Pie Filling?
Sure! You can use pre-made (as in make it yourself ahead of time) Apple Pie Filling or you can definitely use store-bought canned apple pie filling.
Tips and Tricks for the Best Apple Cupcakes
- Be sure you know your oven. You want the cupcake to be baked fully, but not burned, so keep an eye on it at the 20-minute mark.
- Try store-bought whipped cream for another time-saving trick. You can also use a spice cake mix to make these REALLY semi-homemade.
- Want to be the star of your Thanksgiving celebrations? You can make this cupcake BAKERY worthy by adding a caramel drizzle or heath chips on top.
How To Store Apple Pie Cupcakes
I recommend storing the apple pie cupcakes WITHOUT the whipped cream topping. Then, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days. If they are topped with the stabilized whipped cream, the cupcakes would need to be stored in the refrigerator, which can dry out the cupcakes. So, add the whipped topping when serving.
More Apple Treats
The recipe has been tested and updated as of September 2023.
Apple Pie Cupcakes
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 medium Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled and diced small
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
Cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup (122.5 g) whole milk
Stabilized Whipped Cream
- 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 cups (476 g) heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch kosher salt
Instructions
Apple Filling
- In a medium bowl, mix the apples, granulated sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a medium pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the apple mixture and cook, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the liquid is bubbling.
- Add the flour, and stir until the liquid thickens.
- Remove from heat and let the filling cool completely.
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Mix in vanilla.
- Alternating between the flour mixture and milk two times, add each to the creamed butter and sugar, mixing until incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly among the cups of the prepared muffin tin. Top each with about 2 teaspoons of cooled apple filling.
- Bake for about 24-26 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick (around the edge) comes out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Stabilized Whipped Cream
- Before starting, place the bowl and whisk attachment from your stand mixer into the freezer to chill for about 15 minutes. Starting with a cold bowl will help the cream whip up faster and with more volume.
- Once chilled, add the cream cheese and sugar to the bowl. Mix on medium-high speed until fully combined and no lumps remain.
- With the mixer off, pour in the heavy cream. Resume mixing on medium speed until soft peaks have formed (peaks droop slightly). Stop the mixer.
- Using a rubber spatula, scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate all of the cream cheese.
- With the mixer back on medium speed, mix until stiff peaks have formed. (Stiff peaks refer to the whipped cream peaks that stand straight up and hold their shape firmly.)
- Finally, add in the vanilla and a pinch of salt, being careful not to overmix.
- Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with your favorite tip. Pipe a swirl of whipped cream onto each cooled cupcake.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
What the Test Kitchen had to say about this recipe:
Elizabeth
These cupcakes are like your own hand-held apple pie. Fun, pretty, and delicious!
Rachael
These taste like an apple pie! I loved this cupcake and the stabilized whipped cream on top was just perfect with it.
Bella
Yum! The classic apple pie flavor is packed into these adorable cupcakes! I enjoy the whipped topping because it's light and creamy!
Annabelle
These are the best! The apple is a little tangy and sweet, and goes perfectly with the light whipped cream!
I just made these using 2% milk instead of whole and it was fine.
Absolutely delicious cupcake! I read several recipes for apple pie cupcakes before deciding to make this one. The only change I made was to use a cinnamon brown sugar buttercream circle of frosting with a little extra heap of cinnamon apples in the middle. Awesome! Thank you for your recipe. I look forward to trying more of them.
These cupcakes were so yummy and disappeared quickly in my house! lol I will save this recipe, for sure!
I see they are 306 calories, but can I have the nutritional info. in its entirety, please? I track my food daily…
Hi, Ashley! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. We only provide a rough estimate of calories per serving. Have a great day!
Just one word: delicious! I only changed the frosting into a cream cheese frosting.
The video of this recipe says to use baking soda but the recipe that you put on the website of baking powder is it baking soda or baking powder
The written recipe is correct. 🙂
Will the recipe work with gluten free flour? Or how would I need to adjust it?
Hi, Mary! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. We have not tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, so I can’t speak to its effectiveness. Please let us know if you try it and how the cupcakes turn out. Have a wonderful day!
We made this exactly as explained, and they were the best cupcakes we had all year. They were not super sweet, and neither was the frosting. The apple taste really came through.
I made these cupcakes the first time and only baked them for 20 minutes and they were to dry, but they tasted really good.
How many cupcakes does this recipe make? Also, is the icing recipe make enough for all of them? 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar just didn’t sound like enough
My daughter and I made these tonight and are hands down the best cupcakes we’ve ever had! We followed the recipe exactly, well 2 differences, 1. I used 2% milk, and 2. I used 4tbs of powdered sugar, but those are minor. Thank you so much and I look forward to trying out many more of your recipes