Apple Spice Cupcakes (Cake Mix)
Every fall, we look forward to creating a new apple cake or cupcake recipe- we just cannot help ourselves! These easy Apple Spice Cupcakes are a new family favorite. They have a delicious balance of spices, diced apples, and are topped with homemade cream cheese frosting. Nobody would guess that they start with a box of cake mix!
You can find lots more apple cake recipes in our recipes section, but here are a few of our reader favorites: apple rum cake, apple upside down cake, apple pecan bundt cake, and apple cupcakes from scratch.
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Apple Cupcakes
Here is a list of our star ingredients for the cupcakes.
- Spice Cake Mix (No need for additional spices when you start with a spice mix!)
- Melted Butter (we used butter instead of vegetable oil this time).
- Eggs
- 2 cups diced apples (We used Granny Smith but Honey Crisp or Golden Delicious are good options also and hold their shape nicely.)
- Milk
- Sour Cream
- Flour & Sugar - these ingredients give cake mixes a more "from scratch" quality while also extending the batter a bit.
- Vanilla extract
*Ingredients for the frosting include cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Find the full recipe below!
How to Make Apple Spice Cupcakes
This doctored cake mix recipe is very simple! First, we added the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisked to combine. Next, we added the eggs and wet ingredients: milk, melted butter, sour cream, an vanilla.
We mixed the cake batter for ten seconds and then increased to medium speed, and mixed for another two minutes. Finally, we gently stirred in the diced apples and filled the lined cupcake pans. Baking times may vary- our cupcakes were ready after about 16 minutes.
You can see in the photo below the sizes of our apple pieces--you can go even smaller if you'd like!
We wanted you to see that they apple pieces stay suspended as the cupcakes bake (hooray)- but the domes in the photo appear taller than they actually are for some reason. They bake up with just a slight dome. (This is true for most of our cupcake recipes!)
After cooling, we frosted the cupcakes with our favorite cream cheese frosting (using a large 1M star tip).
More Apple Cakes & Cupcakes
Make sure to check out our full collection of apple cake recipes! We have tons of great fall cake recipes too if you are looking for even more ideas.
Have you made this? We would LOVE for you to leave a ⭐️ rating as well as a comment and photo below! We really appreciate your feedback!
Ingredients
- 1 box Spice Cake Mix 15.25g We used Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist
- ½ cup white sugar (100g)
- ½ cup all purpose flour (60g)
- ½ cup Melted Butter *this is one stick (113g)
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (8g)
- 1 cup Sour Cream
- 1 cup milk (we like two percent or whole milk)
- 2 cups of diced apples we used Granny Smith (you could use others like Honey Crisp, Golden Delicious, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F & line cupcake pans with cupcake liners.
- Add the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl (flour, sugar, cake mix) and whisk to blend.
- Next add the eggs, sour cream, melted butter, milk, and vanilla (everything but the apples)
- Mix on low speed for 10 seconds to begin incorporating the ingredients and then bump up the speed to medium, mixing for 2 minutes.
- Gently stir in the diced apples.
- Fill the lined cupcake pans with batter- about ¼ cup of batter per cupcake.
- Bake at 325F for 16-18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached.
- This recipe makes approximately 28-30 cupcakes.
These sound absolutely amazing. I have not made them yet. I do a lot of desserts for large crowds. 50-70 people. Can this single recipe be in a 9x13? It's easier to eat for my elderly crowd. Thanks.
Thanks Cheryl! Yes, this should work fine as a 9x13 sheet cake! ;0)
Thanks
Delicious! :-) Perfect Autumn Cupcakes. Awesome as always. Thanks ladies! :-)
Thank you Teri!! ;0)