Apple Butter Cupcakes

4.75 from 20 votes

These Apple Butter Cupcakes are a simple cinnamon cupcake with apple butter creamed into the buttercream for a classic fall flavor.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apple dessert, cupcake recipe

Servings:

Calories: 277kcal

Author: Julie Clark

Ingredients

1 package yellow cake mix 15.25 ounces
3.4 ounces vanilla instant pudding mix 4-serving size
1 cup apple cider or 2% milk
1/2 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Apple Butter Buttercream:

1 cup salted butter room temperature (8 ounces)
2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup apple butter

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease or line 24 muffin cups with paper baking cups. Set aside.
Beat cake mix, pudding mix, apple cider, oil, eggs, cinnamon and vanilla in bowl of electric mixer on low speed just to moisten, scraping sides as needed. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. 1 package yellow cake mix, 3.4 ounces vanilla instant pudding mix, 1 cup apple cider, 1/2 cup canola oil, 4 large eggs, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full. Use an ice cream scoop to transfer the batter easily.
Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely.

Make the buttercream:

Beat 1 cup (2 sticks) of room temperature butter in large bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until light, fluffy, and almost white in appearance. 1 cup salted butter
Add the apple butter and mix well. 2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
Then add in the 2 cups powdered sugar. Beat until well blended. Add more powdered sugar to stiffen the buttercream, or a bit of milk to make the buttercream more spreadable. 2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
Frost the cupcakes using a knife, or decorate with an icing bag and tip (Wilton tip 1M) to make a pretty swirl.

Notes

If you only have unsalted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon salt for flavor.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

The calories shown are based on the recipe making 24 cupcakes, with 1 serving being 1 frosted cupcake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**

Nutrition