Apple Cupcakes

By pamdabear3383

Ingredients

• Cupcakes
• 1 box (18.25 oz) white cake mix
• 1 cup apple juice from frozen concentrate (save 1 1/2 Tbsp of the concentrate, undiluted, for icing)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 Golden Delicious apple, peeled, cored and coarsely grated
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg whites
• Icing
• 1 brick (8 oz) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese(Neufchatel), softened
• 1 1/2 Tbsp frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
• 1 box (16 oz) confectioner’s sugar

Preparation

Step 1

1. Heat oven to 350ºF. You'll need 24 muffin cups lined with paper or foil cups.

2. Cupcakes: Combine cupcake ingredients in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on low speed until ingredients are moistened. Increase speed to medium and beat 2 minutes, until batter is smooth.

3. Fill muffin cups with a scant 1/4 cup batter. Bake 22 minutes or until a pick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack.

4. Icing: Beat cream cheese and apple juice concentrate with a mixer just until smooth. Beat in confectioners' sugar on low speed to mix; increase speed to medium and beat until well blended, about 1 minute more (icing will be soft).

5. Decorate: Divide frosting into thirds. Tint each to desired shade with brown, green and yellow food colors. Spread frosting on cupcakes. Store cupcakes in refrigerator.Apples: Tint pieces of marzipan brown, green and yellow. Form the green and yellow marzipan into apple shapes. Form brown into apple stems; press into tops of apples. For red blush on yellow apples, dilute red food color with water. Apply with a small, clean artist's brush; let dry.

Acorns: Tint pieces of marzipan light and dark brown. Form dark brown marzipan into acorn shapes, and light brown into caps and stems. Use the back of a small knife to make cross-hatching on caps.

Leaves: Work brown, green and yellow food colors into chunks of marzipan. Roll out between sheets of wax paper to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut leaf shapes with small leaf cookie cutters. Use back of a small knife to mark leaf veins.
Note: Gel and paste colors and small leaf cookie cutters are sold at crafts stores and are also available from Wilton at wilton.com

Nutrition Facts
Yield 24 cupcakes
Amount Per Serving
Calories 202
Total Fat 4g
Saturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 16mg
Sodium 198mg
Total Carbohydrates 39g
Dietary Fiber NA
Protein 2g