Cardamom Buttercream Cinnamon Apple Cupcakes

Baby showers and cupcakes go hand in hand. I had the opportunity to host a baby shower for a couple over the weekend who choose an "apple" theme for their shower. So much fun with apples and fall!

Menu:

• cardamom buttercream cinnamon apple cupcakes
• cinnamon sugar rice cereal treats
• caramel dip with apple slices
• veggie tray
• chips and salsa
• apple cider
• water

For the cupcakes, I was inspired by a fresh apple cupcake recipe (but used golden delicious and jonathan apples we picked from a local orchard instead of Granny Smith apples) and made 1.5 of the recipe but ended up with 48 cupcakes instead of 36 (probably because I didn't fill them as high and the apples I used were REALLY big...I'm pretty sure the chopped apple to batter ratio was near 2:1).

(I apologize for the blurry phone pics!)

FRESH APPLE CAKE:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 large apples, peeled and chopped
• Paper baking cups

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together first 5 ingredients in a large bowl until blended. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture, stirring until blended. Stir in apple. Place paper baking cups in 2 (12-cup) muffin pans; spoon batter into cups, filling two-thirds full. Bake for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely before frosting.

For the buttercream I used 2 sticks of butter at room temp creamed with 1 tsp vanilla, about 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, about 1/4 teaspoon cardamom, and then added powdered sugar by the 1/2 cup until it reached the right consistency and I thinned with apple cider. The measurements on the buttercream are nowhere near exact, it's a taste as you go sort of recipe!

Babywearing helps me keep hands-free while hosting a baby shower!

Love this cupcake stand!