If you have a sweet tooth and a love for autumn's favorite flavor duo, these cupcakes are for you. The light, tender, mildly sweet cakes, accented with apple and cinnamon, are the perfect base for the robustly sweet/tart, creamy frosting. Although they're optional, the jammy bits add a tasty punch of flavor.
To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 375°F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with papers and spray the insides, or lightly grease the pan.
In a medium bowl, beat the butter, vegetable oil, and sugar together until the mixture lightens in color and texture, 60 to 90 seconds.
Beat in the cake enhancer, salt, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and boiled cider.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition.
Weigh the flour, or measure it by gently spooning it into a measuring cup and sweeping off the excess. Gently mix in the flour, alternating it with the milk.
Fold in the jammy bits.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan — a scone and muffin scoop works well here.
Bake the cupcakes for 17 to 20 minutes, until they're very light brown and a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and after 5 minutes, transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting: Beat together the butter, meringue powder, salt, and boiled cider until fully combined.
Gradually add the sugar, beating until the frosting is light and fluffy. Add the milk, if necessary, to make the frosting nicely spreadable.
Spread or pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.
Store unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Store frosted cupcakes, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
The boiled cider in this recipe adds a nice touch of tartness to match the flavor of the jammy bits. If you're looking for a cupcake that's more sweet than tart, reduce the amount of boiled cider in the cupcake to 2 tablespoons and the amount in the frosting to 1 or 2 tablespoons. You can also substitute undiluted apple juice concentrate for similar (though not quite as flavorful) results.
Jammy Bits, sweet, soft little morsels of fruit purée, come in five delicious flavors: blueberry, raspberry, cherry, apple cinnamon, and orange.
