Apple Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes
2 large apples
125g butter, chopped at room temperature
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup milk
1 ½ cups self-raising flour, sifted

Icing
3 cups icing sugar mixture
4 tbs water
‘red red’ food gel, ‘leaf green’ food gel
4 pretzels sticks & 12 mint leaf sweets for decorating

Method

1. Preheat oven 160°C fan forced. Line a 12-hole muffin pan (1/3-cup capacity) with muffin paper cases.
2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, mix well. Stir in half the milk then fold in half the flour. Repeat with remaining milk and flour.
3. Grate the apples. Lightly squeeze and discard excess juice (you should have 1 ⅓ cups grated apple). Fold the apple into the batter. Divide evenly among paper cases. Bake for -22-25 minutes, or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Stand in pan for 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Remove the paper cases.
4. Combine icing sugar and water in a bowl. Mix to a thick, smooth paste. Divide icing in half. Colour one half red and other the other half green. Place the bowl of red icing over a saucepan of hot water, stir until runny. Dip 6 cakes, one at a time, into the icing. Allow excess to drip then allow to set. Repeat with green icing. Break pretzels into 4cm lengths and insert to create stalk. Add a mint leaf to each cake.

? Granny Smith, Pink Lady®, Jazz™, Red Delicious, Fuji and Kanzi™ and Royal Gala are best for this recipe

Tip Cakes will keep 5 days in an airtight container. If it’s a warm day, keep them in the fridge. The cakes will freeze well un-iced for up to 3 months.

Tip Edible food gels are available in stores or online at cake decorating suppliers. We used www.somethingforcake.com.au