Heat the butter over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until it is browned to a caramel color. Allow butter to cool to room temperature.
Beat the room temperature butter for a few minutes on low. I prefer doing this using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment but a hand mixer works too. Add in spices and cream.
Add confections sugar and vanilla. Beat and cream a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake papers in a cupcake pan.
In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together and whisk until incorporated. This includes the sugar.
In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix until combined. Fold in the minced apples.
Distribute the batter evenly into cupcake papers.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and springy to the touch.
Divide the batter evenly into cupcake papers.
Bake for 18- 21 minutes. Let cool.
For the Caramel:
Combine ingredients in small pot.
Heat over medium-low heat while whisking
Cook for 7-8 minutes.
For the Assembly
Core the cupcakes and drizzle in caramel. Replace the cap and pipe a dollop of buttercream on with a large open star tip. Drizzle with some more caramel and serve!
Video
Notes
Browning butter for all your fall recipes is really a must in my book. It adds this nutty depth of flavor that is to die for! Make sure to brown the butter in advance as it takes a while to cool down.
Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don't have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
These cupcakes are great without the caramel, you can also try filling them with some homemade apple pie filling!
You can play with the spice profile of this recipe. I went all out with the fall spices but plain old cinnamon is pretty great on it's own.
If you don’t have sour cream use an equal amount of plain yogurt.