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Apple Pie Cupcakes are tender spiced cupcakes stuffed with warm skillet apple pie filling and crowned with fluffy vanilla buttercream, and when I baked a dozen on a *cool Saturday afternoon* Maddie called them apple pie you can hold, which is exactly right. If you love our apple cider cake, these are the cupcake version of that same cozy fall magic.
Every bite gets tender cake, gooey cinnamon apples, and a swirl of buttercream.
Apple Pie Cupcakes Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 20 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 39 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 12 cupcakes
- ⚡ Calories: 540kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Warm spiced cake with gooey cinnamon apple filling and vanilla buttercream
- ✋ Difficulty: Intermediate, three easy components like our caramel apple cake
Quick Answer
Bake spiced vanilla cupcakes from scratch, then cook diced Granny Smith apples with butter and brown sugar into a quick skillet pie filling. Core the cooled cupcakes, spoon in the apple filling, and pipe whipped vanilla buttercream on top. Finish the Apple Pie Cupcakes with a caramel drizzle if you like.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- A cored, filled center. Removing the center of each cupcake and packing it with skillet apple filling puts real pie in every single bite.
- Granny Smith apples. Tart, firm apples soften without turning to mush and cut through the sweet cake and frosting.
- A cornstarch slurry. A quick slurry thickens the apple juices into a glossy pie filling that stays put inside the cupcake.
- Alternating flour and milk. Adding the dry ingredients and milk in turns keeps the batter smooth and the crumb tender.
- A long buttercream whip. Beating the butter for a full five minutes makes the frosting light, fluffy, and easy to pipe.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They taste exactly like apple pie in cupcake form, right down to the gooey center.
- The skillet apple filling is quick, glossy, and good enough to eat with a spoon, just like the topping on our caramel apple pudding cups.
- They look bakery fancy but every component is genuinely easy.
Key Ingredients
Here is a quick look at what goes into these bakery style Apple Pie Cupcakes, three simple components made completely from scratch.
- Granny Smith Apples: Tart, firm apples that hold their shape in the skillet filling and balance the sweet cake.
- Apple Pie Spice and Cinnamon: Warm spice in the batter makes the whole cupcake taste like pie, not just the filling.
- Brown Sugar: Melts with the apples into a caramel-like pie filling, the same magic behind our caramel apple dump cake.
- Melted Butter: Gives the cupcakes a rich, tender crumb with a hint of that buttery pie crust flavor.
- Butter, Powdered Sugar, and Heavy Cream: Whipped into a silky vanilla buttercream that pipes beautifully.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
These Apple Pie Cupcakes are easy to customize. Here are a few fun ways to change them up.
- Caramel drizzle: Finish each cupcake with warm caramel sauce and a pinch of flaky salt.
- Cinnamon buttercream: Beat a teaspoon of cinnamon into the frosting for extra warmth.
- Use other apples: Honeycrisp or Braeburn work if you prefer a sweeter filling.
- Graham crumb rim: Roll the frosting edges in graham cracker crumbs for a pie crust look.
- More apple bakes: If you love these, our apple pie cinnamon twists are calling.
How to Make Apple Pie Cupcakes
- Beat the sugar and melted butter together until fluffy, about 5 minutes, then add the eggs and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients about a half cup at a time, alternating with the milk, and mix into a smooth spiced batter.
- Portion the batter into a lined muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely.
- Cook the diced apples with butter and brown sugar over medium heat until tender, then stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook until thickened. Cool.
- Core the center of each cooled cupcake with a paring knife and spoon in the apple pie filling, packing it slightly.
- Beat the butter until fluffy, add the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, and heavy cream, and whip until smooth. Pipe onto the cupcakes and garnish as desired.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Cool everything completely. Warm cupcakes crumble when cored and warm filling melts the buttercream.
- Dice the apples small. Small, even pieces cook quickly and fit neatly inside the cupcake wells.
- Do not pierce the bottom. Core only halfway down so the filling stays inside the cupcake.
- Save the cores. Trim the tops of the removed centers and use them as little lids over the filling if you like.
- Whip the butter first. Five full minutes before any sugar goes in makes the fluffiest buttercream.
- Spritz the liners. A light coat of nonstick spray keeps the papers from sticking to these moist cupcakes.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
These Apple Pie Cupcakes are the dessert that disappears first at fall birthday parties, Friendsgiving, and bake sales. The hidden apple filling always gets a wow.
Serve them with mugs of hot cider, or set them beside a pan of our apple cider cake for an all-apple dessert table.
Making a full fall spread? Add our pumpkin cake and a plate of pumpkin snickerdoodles and cover every craving.
Store filled, frosted cupcakes covered in the refrigerator for up to three days and let them sit out for 20 minutes before serving.
Apple Pie Cupcakes FAQs
Use a paring knife, apple corer, or cupcake corer to remove the center of each cooled cupcake, going about halfway down. Do not cut through the bottom or the filling will leak out of the Apple Pie Cupcakes.
You can in a pinch, but the quick skillet filling makes these Apple Pie Cupcakes taste truly homemade. Chop canned filling into smaller pieces so it packs neatly into the cupcake centers.
Yes. Because of the fresh apple filling and buttercream, store Apple Pie Cupcakes covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. Bring them to room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving.
Yes. Bake the cupcakes and cook the filling a day ahead, storing them separately. Core, fill, and frost the Apple Pie Cupcakes the day you serve for the freshest result.
Granny Smith apples are best for Apple Pie Cupcakes because they are tart and hold their shape when cooked. Honeycrisp is a great slightly sweeter alternative.
Freeze the unfilled, unfrosted cupcakes for up to two months. Thaw, then core, fill, and frost fresh. Filled and frosted Apple Pie Cupcakes do not freeze well because the filling softens the cake.
Still in apple mode? Our caramel apple cake is the showstopper to bake next.
Keep the warm spice going with my snickerdoodle cupcakes.
For breakfast that doubles as dessert, meet our banana sweet rolls.
Apple Pie Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk
For the filling:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 Granny Smith apples cored and small diced
- ⅓ cup brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoon water
For the frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- Pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Spritz the paper liners with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, apple pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.1 ½ cup all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon apple pie spice, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a mixing bowl, beat together the sugar and butter until fluffy, about 5 minutes.¾ cup granulated sugar, ¾ cup unsalted butter
- Add the eggs and vanilla, blending well and scraping down the sides as needed.2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients about 1/2 cup at a time alternating with the milk.½ cup milk
- Portion the batter into the cupcake liners.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center returns clean. Allow to cool.
- Meanwhile, prepare the apple pie filling by placing the butter, apples, and brown sugar into a skillet.1 tablespoon unsalted butter, 2 Granny Smith apples, ⅓ cup brown sugar
- Cook over medium heat until the apples are tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.
- Stir the cornstarch into the water until blended. Then, pour the cornstarch slurry into the apples.2 teaspoons cornstarch, 2 teaspoon water
- Continue cooking for about 2 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Allow to cool.
- When the cupcakes have cooled, use a paring knife or apple corer to remove half of the center from each cupcake. Do not pierce all the way through the bottom.
- Gently spoon the apple pie filling into each cupcake well, packing slightly.
- To make the frosting: Beat the butter until fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed.1 cup unsalted butter
- Add the powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla to the butter and beat on low until incorporated. Then, increase the speed to medium and add the heavy cream, beating the frosting until fluffy and smooth.3 cups powdered sugar, Pinch salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag and top each cupcake with frosting.
- If desired, drizzle the cupcakes with caramel ice cream topping. Garnish with a dried apple wedge.
- Refrigerate the cupcakes until ready to serve.
Notes
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Make sure your butter, eggs, and cream cheese are at room temperature for the best mixing results.
- Don’t Overmix: Overmixing the batter can result in dense cupcakes. Mix until just combined.
- Use Fresh Apples: Fresh Granny Smith apples give the best tart flavor and texture for the filling.
- Cool Completely: Ensure the cupcakes are completely cool before filling and frosting to avoid melting the frosting.
- Piping Bag Trick: Use a piping bag to fill the cupcakes neatly and frost them beautifully.
- Extra Apple Pie Spice: Sprinkle a little extra apple pie spice on top of the frosting for a decorative and flavorful touch.
Nutrition
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