It’s officially fall! And apples are eeeeeeverywhere. And I love it! We’ve already made one trip to the orchard and will be making another this week–can’t get enough of them!
These cupcakes we’re inspired by a craving for cupcakes and apple pie so I rolled both into one and voila! Apple cupcake/pie magic!
And these things are INCREDIBLE, if I do say so myself. 🙂 I almost stopped with just the cake part because it is SO GOOD and can pretty much stand on it’s own, but I’d been wanting to experiment a little with frosting and decided to forge ahead.
The gluten-free cupcake is without a doubt one of the most moist, delicious “healthy” cakes I’ve created yet! It’s got loads of little apple chunks and just the right amount of cinnamon. I was also pretty pleased with the frosting…smooth, creamy and not overly sweet as I feel most things sweetened with xylitol, stevia, etc tend to be. It does get somewhat stiff when refrigerated so I recommend letting them sit out for a couple of minutes before eating to allow the frosting to soften a bit! And the crumb topping offset the frosting just enough with it’s salty, oaty, apple-crisp like texture and taste.
So basically total apple cupcake/pie bliss!!!
Overall, I ‘d say my first vegan cupcake was a success and I can’t wait to experiment with more sugar-free frosting recipes! Finding subs for powered sugar is TOUGH but I think doable!
Enjoy!
- 3 c. Blanched Almond Flour
- 1 c. Garbanzo Bean Flour
- ½ c. Sucanat
- ¾ c. Xylitol (or truvia, stevie, etc)
- ¾ t. Sea Salt
- 1½ t. Baking Powder
- ¾ t. Baking Soda
- 3 t. Ground Cinnamon
- 1 t. Xantham Gum
- 1 c. Plain, Unsweetened Coconut Milk Yogurt
- 1 c. Plain, Unsweetened Almond Milk
- 2 T. Pure Vanilla Extract
- ¼ c. Agave
- ⅔ c. Almond Butter
- 1 Large Honeycrisp Apple, finely chopped
- 1½ c. Palm Oil Shortening
- ¾ c. Vegan Butter
- ¼ c. Pure Vanilla Extract
- ¼ t. Sea Salt (more or less to taste)
- ¼ c. Truvia (or stevie, powdered xylitol, etc)
- 2 T. Tapioca Starch
- ½ c. Oats
- ½ c. Blanched Almond Flour
- ¼ c. Sucanat
- 1 T. Truvia (or stevia, xylitol, etc)
- ¼ t. Cinnamon
- ⅛-1/4 t. Sea Salt
- ½ c. Vegan Butter
- ½ t. Pure Vanilla Extract
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 18 cupcake tins with liners
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together almond flour, garbanzo bean flour, sucanat, xylitol, sea salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and xantham gum.
- Add yogurt, almond milk, vanilla, agave and almond butter and beat on low until everything is well-combined.
- Gently fold in chopped apples.
- Scoop about ¼ cup into each muffin tin and bake for 25-27 minutes until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Beat shortening and butter until smooth.
- Beat in vanilla, salt, Truvia and tapioca starch until everything is well-combined.
- Place in fridge for a few minutes to allow to firm up a bit. Meanwhile, make the crumb topping.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and beat on low until well combined.
- Place a couple of tablespoons of frosting onto each cooled cupcake and then top with the crumb topping. Refrigerate until ready to eat.
