It's that time of the year again! Back-to-school vibes are here, complete with fresh starts and excitement abound! What better way to celebrate the start of the new school year than with these adorable apple cupcakes!
Apple for the teacher? Secret hint: there's a donut inside!
These fun and delicious apple cinnamon cupcakes are topped with natural apple pie flavored buttercream and red sanding sugar. The key to the apple shape is the attached mini donut! And they are all finished off with a green fondant leaf and “bookworm” and pretzel “stem” to make the cutest apples in the orchard!
Here is what you need to make Back2School Apple Cupcakes:
Cupcakes
1 Box Apple Cinnamon Crumb Cake Mix
1 Package mini cinnamon donuts
Paper straws
Red Baking Cups
Apple Buttercream Frosting (follow these directions but add in flavoring)
3 sticks salted Land o’ lakes butter (1 ½ cups)
32-ounce bag of confectioners sugar (about 8 cups)
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole milk
2-4 tablespoons Amoretti Apple Pie Flavoring
Decorations
Green fondant
Leaf fondant cutter
Red sanding sugar
Pretzel sticks
Sour Worms
Instructions:
Make the cake mix according to the directions on the box, let cool completely. Attach the mini donut on top of the cupcake using a paper straw through the center of the donut and into the cupcake.
Make the frosting according to the directions here. Color the frosting red with gel color and place in a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe around the outside of the donut swirling all the way to the top, covering the entire donut.
Next, take a small offset spatula and smooth/sculpt the apple shape with the buttercream.
Place sanding sugar in a bowl and dip the entire top of the cupcake in the bowl covering the buttercream with sanding sugar.
Finish with a fondant leaf and pretzel stem! I used pre-bought green fondant and this cutter.