Candy Apple Brown Butter Cupcakes (Vegan)
Trick? Or treat? Inside these vegan brown butter cupcakes is a sour apple surprise, but don't be afraid, it goes great with salted caramel buttercream.
Happy Halloween! Oh it’s…it’s not Halloween yet? WELL it’s October and that’s close enough for me! This is my absolute favorite holiday, so I couldn’t possibly make just one recipe for it. Which means I’ve got another one coming later this month and it’s even scarier. Scary good, I mean.
Servings: 12 | Prep Time: 1 hour 55 minutes | Cook Time: 18 to 20 minutes
12-cup muffin pan
Cupcake liners (green, orange, and purple)
Heavy-bottomed saucepans
Hand-mixer / Stand-mixer
Large skillet
Squeeze bottle
Medium and large piping bags
3-Color Piping Bag Coupler (link)
Large star piping tip
Cupcake corer / Small knife
Brown Butter Cupcakes:
⅓ cup almond oil plant butter sticks (I used Country Crock)
½ tbsp soy milk powder
2 tbsp + 2 tsp hazelnut butter
1 tbsp molasses
1 cup brown sugar
½ tsp xanthan gum
½ cup water
1 ½ cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ cup soy milk (I used Silk)
¼ cup vanilla soy yogurt (Silk)
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
Sour Apple Filling:
2 large Granny Smith apples
¼ cup margarine
1 ½ tbsp flour
½ cup sugar
2 tbsp water
1 tsp citric acid
½ tsp clear vanilla
Teal food coloring
Salted Caramel Sauce:
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup almond oil plant butter sticks, room temp
¼ cup dairy-free heavy whipping cream (Silk), room temp
¼ tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt
Salted Caramel Buttercream:
½ cup vegan butter, room temp
½ cup shortening, room temp
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp dairy-free heavy whipping cream, room temp
2 tbsp salted caramel sauce, room temp
½ tsp salt
Orange food coloring
Purple food coloring
Teal food coloring
Yellow food coloring
Assembly:
Black sanding sugar
Brown Butter Cupcakes (30 minutes + 18 to 20 minutes baking)
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt the plant butter over high heat.
Whisk in the soy milk powder and continue whisking over high heat until mixture foams and turns brown.
As soon as the mixture browns, remove from heat and transfer to a heat-safe bowl.
Fill another slightly larger bowl with ice.
Place the bowl with the brown butter on top of the ice and whisk until butter firms up.
Transfer the brown butter to a large bowl.
Add the hazelnut butter and molasses and whisk together until just incorporated.
Add the brown sugar and, with a hand-mixer or stand-mixer, cream together on high until the mixture has increased in volume, about 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the xanthan gum and water until mixture thickens.
Add the xanthan gum mixture to the batter in two batches, mixing thoroughly in between additions. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the soy milk, yogurt, and vanilla. Set aside.
Add half the flour mixture to the batter and fold in until just incorporated.
Add the milk mixture to the batter and combine until just incorporated.
Add the remaining flour mixture to the batter and fold in until just incorporated.
Fill the muffin pan with the batter so each cavity is 2/3rds of the way full.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Let the cupcakes cool in the pan about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Sour Apple Filling (20 minutes)
Peel and dice the apples into small pieces, about ¼” in size. Set aside.
In a large skillet, melt the margarine over medium heat.
Whisk in the flour until fully incorporated and mixture has thickened.
Whisk in the sugar, water, citric acid, and clear vanilla.
Bring the mixture just to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer.
Add the apples and let simmer until apples soften and mixture has thickened.
Remove from the heat and add a drop of teal food coloring, whisking to achieve a neon green color. (You may need to add a bit of yellow food coloring as well, if your margarine was not yellow enough.)
Let the sour apple filling cool and transfer to an airtight container.
Chill in the fridge until assembly.
Salted Caramel Sauce (15 minutes)
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar and brown sugar.
Melt the sugars over high heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until they clump up and then liquify.
As soon as the caramel is fully liquid, remove from heat. Do not overcook.
Whisk in the dairy-free butter. The mixture will foam up and may splatter, so be careful when adding anything.
Once the butter is fully incorporated, whisk in half of the heavy whipping cream at a time until fully combined.
Transfer the caramel to a heat-safe bowl and place the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice. This will stop the caramel overcooking and help cool it down.
Whisk in the vanilla and salt.
Continue to gently whisk the caramel until cooled completely.
Once the caramel is room temperature, pour through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any clumps and transfer to a squeeze bottle. Set aside.
Salted Caramel Buttercream (20 minutes)
In a large bowl, with a hand-mixer or stand-mixer, beat the vegan butter and shortening until mixture is light and fluffy, and has increased in volume, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Gradually add the powdered sugar, whipping in between each addition, until fully incorporated.
Add the heavy whipping cream, salted caramel sauce, and salt, whipping to combine, about 30 seconds.
Divide the frosting into three equal portions, transferring to separate bowls.
Add a couple drops of orange food coloring to one bowl of frosting, whipping to combine until evenly distributed.
Add a couple drops of purple food coloring to another bowl of frosting, whipping to combine until evenly distributed.
To the final bowl, add a drop of yellow and a drop of teal food coloring, whipping to combine until evenly distributed.
If using a 3-color piping coupler, transfer each color frosting to a medium piping bag, each fitted with one of the three small couplers. Connect the small couplers together and place the three bags into one large piping bag, fitted with a large star tip. Screw on the large round coupler.
If not using the coupler, transfer each color frosting to a medium piping bag and snip off the corner. Place all three bags into a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
Set aside.
Assembly (30 minutes)
Using a cupcake corer or a small knife, core the cooled cupcakes and discard the centers.
Fill each cupcake with about 2 tsp of the sour apple filling, or until completely full.
Drizzle a small amount of salted caramel sauce on top of the apple filling.
Pipe a tall swirl of tri-color frosting onto each cupcake.
Sprinkle with black sanding sugar.
Serve immediately or store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Enjoy!
Be sure to check out my Best Practices page for tips on how to make this recipe yourself. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions and feel free to tag me on Instagram @made.by.shade if you make it!
-Shade