Apple Streusel Cupcakes.

I mentioned in my UTEP Visitor's Day post that I had made these cupcakes with the underage prospective grad student who stayed with me.

They were delicious and really really simple. Plus I had all the ingredients on hand which rarely happens for me so I double love these!

The topping didn't end up being the way I wanted, but it all tastes the same, and that taste is delicious!

Apple Streusel Cupcakes

makes 14
1/2 tsp baking soda
10 oz/280 g jar tart applesauce
4 tbsp butter, softened
generous 3/8 cup raw brown sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
scant 1 1/4 cups self-rising white flower
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

for the topping
generous 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup raw brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 1/2 tbsp butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put 14 paper liners in 2 muffin pans.

First make the topping. Put the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl or in the bowl of a food processor. Cut the butter into small pieces, then either rub it in by hand or blend in the processor until the mixture resembles find bread crumbs. Set aside while you make the cakes.

To make the cupcakes, add the baking soda to the jar of applesauce and stir until dissolved. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs. Sift in the flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg and, using a large metal spoon, fold into the mixture, alternating with the applesauce.

Spoon the batter into the paper cases. Sprinkle the topping over each cupcake to cover the tops and press down gently.

Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until well risen and golden brown. Leave the cakes for 2-3 minutes before serving warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

They turned out really nice! The cupcakes were really soft and frankly, a bit perfect. Not too sweet, you could taste the apple really well and there was enough spice to taste but not so much that you hate cinnamon and nutmeg forever.

The topping was another story--it's supposed to crumble like bread crumbs, it looks that way in the picture. But ours was more like dough. And it melted into the cupcakes and spread out over the edges, but it tasted delicious and really that's all that matters.

I just wonder if I'll ever bake anything that looks edible. This time I have a fall guy; I was teaching a novice. But you and I know the truth. Pretty much everything I touch turns to crap.



But it tastes fine.

And even if it doesn't, that's why God made grad students. They'll eat anything.

Recipe from "Easy Cupcakes" by Parragon Books.