I love the rain. I often tell the Hubs that I could totally pull off living in a London flat. All I would need is a super cute pair of Kate Spade rain boots and an umbrella that even Mary Poppins would approve of. Then I could go splashing through all the puddles on my way to the local bakery. Oh, and while I sat eating my chocolate croissant, I could check out the latest Doctor Who filming down the street. Cuz you know that would totally happen. Obviously.
So today was one of those days where I totally pretended that I lived in that imaginary London flat and baked while the rain came down.
I had some leftover apple cider from our orchard trip, so I decided to bake up these baby apple cakes. To spice things up, I topped them with a simple walnut streusel and added a drizzle of cinnamon cream cheese icing. Best. Fall. Dessert. Ever.
Recipe by Carrie
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 1 medium apple, skin removed, chopped
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 4 ounces butter, softened
- 2 cups confectioner sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon extract
- splash of heavy cream
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350° and line a standard muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In your stand mixer bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add your egg and extracts; scrape the sides of the bowl and continue to combine.
- Add sour cream and mix well.
- Alternating, starting and ending with the flour mixture, add a little flour mixture and then apple cider.
- Fold in chopped apples.
- Spoon mixture into your paper liners and bake for 15 minutes; total bake time will be 25-30 minutes, however you will need to pull them out early to top with streusel.
- In a small bowl, combine light brown sugar, chopped walnuts, cinnamon and butter with a fork.
- Top apple cakes with streusel after 15 minutes and allow them to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.
- In your stand mixer bowl, combine cream cheese and butter and mix until light and fluffy.
- Add in your extracts.
- Slowly add in your confectioner sugar and beat well.
- If it is too thick, thin it out with a splash of heavy cream or milk.