To make these cupcakes I started with Golden Vanilla Cake Mix by Betty Crocker. I beat the eggs first and then added the oil. Instead of water I used apple cider. I added the mix last. I also added cinnamon and nutmeg to the cake batter.
While the cupcakes were baking I peeled and chopped 2 apples--one large Gala apple and one small Golden Delicious apple. (You can use whichever variety of apples you like best.) In a saucepan I cooked the apples until they were soft. I also added ~1/4 cup of apple cider while the apples were cooking. I did not add sugar to the apples when I was cooking them because I knew the cupcakes themselves would be fairly sweet and they would be topped with the caramel frosting.
When the cupcakes were cool, I cut out the centers.
I placed the cooked apples into the center of the cupcakes.
To make the caramel frosting I followed the recipe by http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2011/08/chocolate-turtle-cupcakes/. (By the way the chocolate turtle cupcakes are amazing!).
To make the caramel decorations I adapted the Caramel Grid recipe from Jacques Torres' book Dessert Circus At Home. I made half the recipe and had leftovers.You can use the leftovers in hot cocoa.
1/4 cup of water
1 1/8 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of light corn syrup
Mix the ingredients together in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Place a candy thermometer in the pan and cook the mixture to 311 degrees Fahrenheit (155 degrees Celsius). This is known as the hard crack stage. Stir the sugar gently and slowly to ensure that it cooks evenly. Keep the inside of the saucepan clean by dipping a pastry brush in cold water and brushing the inside of the pan. When the sugar is ready, pour it into a medium-sized heat proof glass bowl. Do not leave the sugar in the saucepan because it will continue to cook and turn dark brown. By using a glass bowl you can reheat the caramel in the microwave when it starts to harden. Lightly spray parchment paper with vegetable cooking spray. Using a stainless steel spoon, drizzle the caramel onto the parchment paper in a grid. Do not make the lines too thick. After the caramel cools for a few minutes you should be able to lift it off the parchment paper.
Notes:
- You can drizzle the caramel in any design you want.
- I didn't clean the inside of the pan with a pastry brush.
- The temperature will change quickly as it reaches 300F, so watch the thermometer so you don't burn the sugar.
- Work quickly. The caramel can harden in the bowl. Unfortunately I do not have a glass bowl and used a metal one which meant I could not microwave it after it started to cool
- Be careful! The caramel is around 300F. As a result, the bowl is very hot.
- The caramel will melt on a humid day. Also, make this a few hours before you plan to use it.
- Boil water in the saucepan you used to make the caramel. It will dissolve the remaining caramel making the saucepan easy to clean.
Instead of making a bunch of little grids I made a few large ones and broke them up to put them on the cupcakes.
I frosted the cupcakes using Wilton tip #108 and place the caramel decorations on top.
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