Caramel Apple Cupcakes

In my Teacher Appreciation Week post I mentioned that I was going to make these caramel apple cupcakes I found on Tidy Mom's blog. Have you been to her blog? You'll love it I'm sure. Well, I made them and they were more than amazing. Her Cinnamon Buttercream is the best buttercream I've ever had. And I'm not a fan of buttercream at all. I dropped some off at Nash's school in the morning and by noon the secretary was calling. I immediately got worried something was wrong with Nash, but she said she wanted to place a cupcake order for an upcoming baby shower. She is the best kind of customer. You know, the kind that says, do what ever you want, be creative. Honestly, I really do love those customers. Then if you screw something up they'll never know that's not what you had planned!

On to the recipe. You start with a box of Duncan Hines Decadent Caramel Apple Cake mix.

Simply follow the instructions for cupcakes on the back of the box.

*Note: The instructions call for mixing the caramel and spooning it on top of the cupcake batter and then swirling it with a knife. I had trouble with this step. Next time, I think I will add the caramel mixture to a piping bag and use a small tip to pipe it in little swirls. It was difficult to spread it with the knife because it's so thick and it ended up being kind of clumpy.

Next, click here for Tidy Mom's Cinammon Buttercream recipe. It's basically regular buttercream with the addition of cinamonn and some vanilla bean paste, which I found at a gourmet market and I loved. I have never used it before, but I will use it often. She also uses cream instead of milk. She adds corn syrup to the frosting, but I inadvertently left it out and it was fine. I'm not sure why she added it, but maybe it was to make the frosting more manageable. I bet you could use piping gel for the same purpose.

I purchased these adorable glasses from Starbucks the same day I made these cupcakes, so I thought I would use them as props!

I love taking pictures of cupcakes.

The sit still, they don't make funny faces, and they have an endless amount of patience.

Thanks for a great recipe Tidy Mom, it's a keeper!