Apple Crumble Cupcake is the September Feature at Kelly's Bake Shoppe

Kelly's XO Apple Crumble Cupcake kind of signifies the end of summer. When we launch it September 1st, we know we are moving towards fall and flavours like pumpkin, apple, and spices ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and all the other deep warming spices too. Kelly's Bake Shoppe staff LOVE our Apple Crumble Cupcake. There's something romantic about autumn, and the change of season and the delicious, exotic spice of cinnamon flowing through your body and your soul.

At Kelly's, this feature cupcake is a caramel based cupcake, with fresh diced organic apples folded into the batter, it's then filled with caramel, frosted in vanilla buttercream and the rolled in our secret apple crumble coating and topped with a delicious homemade caramel drizzle. Sounds pretty amazing....right?

I was thinking about how to share this recipe for this cupcake with you (and make it easy), and then I realized you could pretty much do this by making our Vanilla Cupcake from our Made With Love Cookbook. By adding some cinnamon and a ½ cup diced organic apples and fold them into the batter is a good place to start. Once baked and cooled, you could top them with cinnamon buttercream and sprinkle with a very simple gluten-free oat crumble or granola. I think that these cupcakes would be a ton of fun to make.

To give some extra love today, I'm including the Made With Love, Vanilla Cupcake Recipe right here!!

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Vanilla Cupcakes (and there's a variation to create an 'Apple Crumble' Cupcake too)

This recipe is one of my favourites! It’s very light, fluffy, and flavourful and not dense at all like some gluten free baked goods can be. It’s also one of our favourite recipes at the Bake Shoppe and the cake recipe we use for our gorgeous wedding cakes. This recipe is great for either a cake or cupcakes. As a variation, by adding apples and cinnamon and topping with granola, you get your own version of Kelly's XO Apple Crumble Cupcake.

DRY
3 cups gluten-free Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose GF flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp cinnamon (for optional Apple Crumble Cupcake)
1 tsp sea salt
¾ tsp xanthan gum

WET
2 cups vanilla coconut yogurt (So Delicious brand is best)
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ cup diced apples + ½ tsp cinnamon to toss with apples (for optional Apple Crumble Cupcake)
¾ cup Earth Balance vegan shortening
1 cups organic cane sugar
½ cup Sucanat
1 Tbsp egg replacer (found in healthy grocery stores or Amazon) + 2/3 cup coconut milk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Directions

Prepare two pans of 12 cupcake trays (24 cupcakes) with liners and preheat oven to 350F
Whisk together dry ingredients.
Combine yogurt + lemon juice. Add diced apples (coated in cinnamon) and stir. Set aside.
Cream shortening, then add sugar and Sucanat and beat until fluffy.
Add egg replacer (mixed with coconut milk), and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mix in three batches, alternating with the apple/yogurt mixture and beginning and ending with the flour mixture, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Bake for 18-20 minutes at 350 F.
Top with your favourite vanilla buttercream. For the Apple Crumble cupcake, add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to vanilla frosting. Then top with your favourite granola (the easy way) or an oat crumble can be baked and cooled ahead of time (recipe below).

Makes 24 Cupcakes OR Makes One 6 inch 3 layer cake

Variation of an Oat Topping (or simply use granola for the topping):

3/4 cup wheat-free oats
⅓ cup rice flour or gluten-free all purpose flour
½ cup sucanat or coconut sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
⅓ cup coconut oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Combine all ingredients with a fork and place on a cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes, then give the oat crumble a stir and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until brown. Remove from oven and let cool. Use as a topping for cupcakes or ice cream.

Enjoy!