Filled with apple cider flavor, applesauce, spices and a little brown sugar, these Apple Cider Cupcakes are extra moist and the perfect sweet treat for Fall. Made a little healthier than your average cupcake, these cupcakes are whole grain, gluten-free, and made with less sugar. Topped with a homemade Spiced Buttercream Frosting, these cupcakes are still plenty sweet and decadent enough for all to enjoy!
Before I get to making these Apple Cider Cupcakes, I have a confession to make.
I don’t really like frosting.
Or, at least, I’m at a solid “Okay some frosting is good. As long as there isn’t TOO much.” So I don’t make cupcakes that are decked out in frosting. Because it’s way too sweet and takes away from the cupcake itself, to me.
On the other hand, my husband is a die-hard frosting lover. He happily takes my scraped off leftover frosting! 🙂
So while I’ve tried to make cupcakes with healthier frosting, it’s sort of been outlawed at our house. Healthier frosting isn’t “real frosting” I’ve been told.
So while these Apple Cider Cupcakes are healthier than the average cupcake, this frosting is your typical buttercream frosting. And, that’s what I’d recommend too. The only other healthier frosting I’ve ever liked is cashew “cream cheese” frosting (which is delicious, and would work great for these too!).
If you’re looking for a healthier Fall treat, and are okay with some traditional buttercream frosting, then these Apple Cider Cupcakes are IT!
They’re loaded with apple cider, applesauce, spices, and a little brown sugar. Moist and springy. And topped with a spiced buttercream frosting. After all, apple cider is Fall in a cup, and these are Fall in a cupcake!
Let’s talk cupcake details now!
First, let’s talk about making these Apple Cider Cupcakes, then we’ll talk ingredients.
To begin, to a small mixing bowl add your oat flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Stir till well combined.
To a large mixing bowl, add your butter and brown sugar and cream them together with a hand blender. Add your applesauce, apple cider, and vanilla, and blend again till all is well combined. Lastly, add your eggs and beat them in.
Now, combine your dry and wet ingredients and stir them together till you have a cupcake batter. NOW, preheat your oven to 350.
This gives your oat flour a chance to soak up all the goodness of the wet ingredients while your oven is preheating. *If you’re not using oat flour, feel free to preheat your oven first and the batter does not need to rest.
Once it’s ready, fill your cupcake liners in a muffin pan about 3/4 way full with batter and bake for about 18-22 minutes, or till the tops are springy to touch and a toothpick comes out clean.
TIP: If you buy cheaper cupcake liners, be sure to spray them with non-stick spray! I’ve had liners stick to cupcakes if they aren’t the best quality. Now, I try to do it every time I make cupcakes just in case.
Wait till your cupcakes have cooled entirely to top them with the Spiced Buttercream Frosting. Pipe or spread it on however you’d like!
Let’s chat about some of the ingredients for these cupcakes too.
First, the oat flour. You don’t have to use oat flour if you don’t want to! You can also use all purpose gluten-free flour or regular flour. Both will work great.
***If you do use oat flour, be sure to use one that’s super fine (I don’t recommend blending it yourself). Or, these cupcakes could turn out super crumbly. If you aren’t sure if your oat flour is fine enough, you can also do a blend of oat flour and all purpose flour (say 1 cup oat flour and 1/3 cup all purpose flour).
For the applesauce, you can use sweetened or unsweetened. Either one will work.
For the apple cider, I recommend you use your favorite one! I’ve used a very sugary store bought one, and a sugar-free apple cider. Both have worked very well in this recipe.
To make these cupcakes gluten-free, be sure to use certified gluten-free oat flour or a gluten-free all purpose flour blend.
To make these cupcakes dairy-free, be sure to use coconut oil or a dairy-free butter alternative.
And don’t forget the spiced buttercream frosting! Or, check out my cashew “cream cheese” frosting for a healthier alternative. Oh and definitely sprinkle your cupcakes with some fall-colored sprinkles too 🙂 Or add a little cinnamon sugar sprinkle on top like I did.
By the way, do you love frosting?! Am I the only crazy person who isn’t a huge fan of frosting!? Let me know, below!
And if you make these cupcakes, let me know how they turned out! I love hearing feedback from all of you.
Looking for other easy, healthier, Fall desserts? Check out my Maple Pecan Cookies and Skinny Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes.
***09/28/2022: This recipe was updated, after several complaints that the cupcakes were too dense. The altered recipe should give you the wonderful flavor of Apple Cider AND a fluffy cupcake!
- 1 1/3 cup oat flour (certified gluten-free) or gluten-free all purpose flour (or regular flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- pinch of cloves
- 1/2 cup butter, melted (coconut oil or dairy-free butter alternative)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 applesauce (sweetened or unsweetened)
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1-2 tbsp water, milk or more apple cider
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
- 2 cups powdered sugar
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In a small mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredients: oat flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves and stir them together.
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In a large mixing bowl, cream your butter and brown sugar together with a mixer. Add your applesauce, apple cider, and vanilla and mix again till all is well combined. Add your eggs and beat them into the mixture for a minute.
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Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and stir together till you have a smooth cupcake batter.
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Preheat your oven to 350 (if using oat flour, this gives the flour a chance to soak up the dry ingredients). Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and spray them with non-stick spray.
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Once your oven is heated, fill your cupcake liners about 3/4 way full. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or till the tops are springy to touch and a toothpick comes out clean.
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In a large mixing bowl, combine your butter, 1 tbsp of apple cider, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and blend together well, with a hand mixer.
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Add 1 cup of powdered sugar to your bowl and mix well, with a hand mixer. Add another cup of powdered sugar to your bowl and blend together again. Beat for a minute or two, or till the frosting is nice and fluffy. *If your frosting is too thick add another tablespoon of apple cider, till it reaches the consistency you would like.
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After your cupcakes have cooled, frost them (and maybe add sprinkles or cinnamon sugar on top too!). Devour!
Stored in an airtight container on the counter, cupcakes last about 1-2 days. Stored in an airtight container in the fridge they last about a week.
Can you use crisco instead of butter?
Hi Pat. I haven’t ever used crisco in a cupcake, so I cannot give any personal experience. But, I know from research that it would appear that you can use it, in equal amounts as a substitute.
Love it! I love frosting but this one was a little too sugary for my personal taste and I try to make it thicker but idk how to, without adding more powder sugar
Hi Madeleine. No, you must have apple cider for this recipe.
Your recipe was easy to follow. Most recipes from “scratch” are not for beginners… I understand how hard it could be to write a recipe for beginners. That being said lol… I am NOT a beginner but yet still learned a lesson, myself. When one has creamed fats and sugars… DO NOT add cold applesauce and apple cider to it bwahaha! I was so focused on the recipe that I lost sight of past mistakes lolol. So for anyone hoping to try this delicious cupcake… bring cold product to room temp before adding to CREAMED part! Bon appetit!
Thank you for this recipe!
Vicki
What do you mean by a pinch of cloves? Like whole cloves?
Hi there. I mean a pinch of ground cloves. Hope this helps!
I made these and everyone loved them! I did use regular apf in mine and doubled the frosting recipe. I’m going to be making another 6 dozen for all my nurses and staff at the cancer center I go to!
Happy Fall Y’all!
Hi Chelsea, I’m very excited to try this recipe, especially with the healthier options! Can you please clarify the measurement of the applesauce? It just says 1/3 but does not have cup vs tbsp vs tsp. Thank you!
Hi there. It should be 1/3 cup of applesauce, sorry about the mistake!
I made these and they tasted delicious but my only issue was that the recipe calls to melt the butter. I did that, however it congealed before I added all the other ingredients and I couldn’t melt it again because I’d added the eggs and they would scramble. I had to remake the wet batter and I softened the butter instead. That worked much better. They are denser than non gluten cupcakes, almost like a muffin with icing but they were still delicious.
It’s so hard yummy gluten free recipes that my whole family can enjoy, but I made these for my family yesterday morning and everyone loved them! My family had eaten all of them by the time I went for seconds, which never happens when I bake gluten free! These are definitely a new family favorite. Thank you!
I made the cupcakes and icing today and loved the flavor. The cupcakes did seem to be a bit dense or heavy to me and I’m not sure how to make them “lighter “. Thoughts?
Hi Marjorie. These cupcakes are a little heavier, they aren’t meant to be super fluffy (like store-bought). Especially with both the applesauce and apple cider in them.
I made these and they did not rise at all. they were more the texture of a brownie. They tasted good but didn’t work for my application. Also the icing was very soft. ( I made a different cake recipe) I added more powdered sugar wich helped some and refrigerated the cupcakes after frosting which helped some, but it was not the fluffy icing I expected.
How many does one batch make?
12
I used an ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake liners, and the recipe made 18 cupcakes. The frosting only covered six cupcakes, so I would double the frosting recipe next time.
I also topped the cupcakes with homemade apple pie filling before frosting. The cupcake and frosting are Delicious! Thank you.
Hi! This sounds yummy, but can you make it with whole wheat flour?
Hi Talia. I haven’t tried these with wheat flour, so I’m not sure if it would work or not. It may be worth trying 50/50 white and wheat flour (I would think that balance would work okay!).
Hi, is there anything I could use instead of eggs to make it vegan?
Hi Michelle. You could try making them with flax or chia eggs, it just may make the cupcakes a bit more dense (but should still work well i’d think). I’d recommend a flax egg with 1 tbsp flax seed and 2.5 tbsp of water (let them sit till gelled). I hope this helps!
I used applesauce and it worked out just fine !
1tbsp water 1tbsp vegetable oil 1tsp baking power replaces 1 egg.
i use banana or APPLESAUSE to replace eggs when I bake and it always seems to work out just fine!
Can you use almond or coconut flour instead of oat?
Hi Megan. I would not recommend using either almond or coconut flour instead. They both have totally different ratios and cannot be swapped out 1:1. Hope this helps!
I’m not a frosting lover either!! In fact if I make cupcakes I leave a few unfrosted for myself🤣 You are not crazy in my eyes LOL!! I’m very excited to try your cupcakes. I’m a fan of apple cider and pumpkin spice anything!! Happy Fall Y’all♥️
Love it!! Fellow naked cupcake fans unite! I hope you love my recipes. Thanks for the comment Beth!
Hi! Can I use something else beside oat flour? My husband is highly allergic to oats. Can I use Unbleached apf and if so would it be the same measurements? Thanks!
Yes, all purpose flour should work great as well! I hope you enjoy.