Apple Spice Cupcakes


Who hasn't heard about the Cupcake Wars (on the Food Network)??  I love all cooking shows...some of my favorites being, Cupcake wars, Top Chef, Giada De Laurentiis, Ina Garten, and The Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond.)

I like to create or look for recipes that inspire my taste buds!  Savory and sweet dishes definitely make my taste buds do a happy dance!  Salted caramel? Yes, please!


It only made sense when I came across these savory cupcakes, from Cupcake Wars (Marilyn Norris), I had to make it.  Sweet spiced apple and vanilla with gorgonzola cheese, delicious! 

With my salty and sweet addiction there is one I cannot understand...bacon and chocolate.  Salty morning bacon with sweet, dessert chocolate?  I am probably one of the only people that has not tried this combo...it's still slightly daunting to me.


The sprinkled gorgonzola give the cupcakes the right amount of salty, without overpowering the rest of the flavors.  My 18 month old devoured these cupcakes.  Definitely an all ages crowd pleaser!

Apple-Spice Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting Sprinkled with Walnuts and Gorgonzola
Recipe Adapted from Marilyn Norris, Cupcake Wars 2010


Ingredients
Apple Filling:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Apple-Spice Cupcakes:
1 2/3 cups unbleached pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs

Vanilla Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Walnut and Gorgonzola Topping:
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola
Honey, for drizzling

Preparation:
For filling:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, water, apples, cinnamon, and salt.  Stir occasionally until apples are soft, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Set aside to cool.

For Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line standard cupcake pans with 14 cupcake liners.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, ginger, cayenne, and salt  into a medium bowl and whisk to combine.  In a separate small bowl, mix the buttermilk and vanilla.  In a bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar, about 5 minutes.  Add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping the edges of the bowl after each addition.  Turn the mixer to the lowest speed and, in equal parts, add the flour and buttermilk mixture.

Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full with cupcake batter.  Place  1 teaspoon apple filling on top of each cupcake, and gently swirl .  Bake until golden brown, about 17-20 minutes.  Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.

For the Topping:
Combine the walnuts and gorgonzola, making sure to crumble the mixture after it is combined.

To assemble:
Frost each cupcake with vanilla icing (I used a 1M tip.)  Sprinkle a small handful of gorgonzola mixture on top.  Finishing, with a drizzle of honey

*Sprinkle the gorgonzola walnut mixture right before serving*

17 comments:

  1. Over the top apple-spice goodness accessorized with walnuts and Gorgonzola? Be still my heart...

    Salty-sweet addicts unite!

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  2. These are so beautiful. I bet they taste out of this world.

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  3. Wow, these cupcakes are so interesting!! They sound delicious and are so pretty. You MUST try chocolate and bacon, best salty sweet combo out there!

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  4. Hi Katie! Just wanted to say that these cupcakes look so yummy and beautiful presentation! If you like apples, please try out my recipe for apple spiced muffins with granola topping... http://bit.ly/rWYbP4

    Thanks!

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  5. I love these flavors and that topping! Oh yum!

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  6. Nuts and apples, two of my fav flavors. Yum!

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  7. Salt and sweet. just like chocolate coated pretzels. These cupcakes look easily addictive!

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  8. What a fabulous recipe! I love the combination of flavors! I know my twins (and I) would eat these up! Thanks for sharing!

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  9. Now this is something i think I must try - love salty/sweet and I love apples and gorgonzola so I know I am going to love these!!

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  10. These cupcakes look amazing! Lovely photos too, you just reminded me how much I need a burlap backdrop :)

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  11. Oh Yum! These look delish. I too LOVE salty/sweet combo but could not/would not try the bacon-chocolate pairing.

    Happy Thanksgiving. I simply adore all your recipes. In fact, I passed one onto a friend just the other day:)

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  12. These cupcakes are absolutely gorgeous, almost too pretty to eat! Love the flavors, I bet they tasted amazing! :)

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  13. These are such pretty little cupcakes. I love the idea of the gorgonzola sprinkle - I bet it tastes amazing!

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  14. Hi, First time here :) These are just scrumptious and gorgeous looking! I'm with you on the bacon-chocolate combo, just doesn't sound right to me. But I do love the touch of salty sweet in these.

    P.S. Glad you found me on Twitter. I love, love your blog:)

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  15. Has anyone actually made these cupcakes? :)

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  16. got some in the oven! can't wait to try them!

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  17. These recipe sounds very interesting.I've featured it on my blog, hoping that you don't mind, but if you do, please contact me and I'll remove it. All the best.

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