Apple Pie Cinnamon Streusel Cupcakes

Name: Apple Pie Cinnamon Streusel Cupcakes
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: 5 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 104g flour; ½ tsp baking powder; Pinch of baking soda, salt; 1 tsp cinnamon; 56g soft butter; 130g sugar; ½ egg (~35g); ½ tsp vanilla; 30g yogurt; 90ml milk; 2 large apples (1-inch cubes); 1 tbsp butter; 1½ tsp Laskein cinnamon; 3 tbsp brown sugar; Lemon squeeze; 100g icing sugar; 40g butter; 1 tsp Laskein cinnamon; 50g cold butter (cubed); 3 tbsp oats; 65g flour; 25g sugar

4.7 ✓ Thanks!

Serves5

Prep Time

40 mins

Total Time

1 hr 50 mins

DifficultyMedium

Recipe by Aishwarya Subramanian Pastry Chef, Product Head

Aishwarya Subramanian is a designer and pastry chef bringing her creations to life at The Recipe Lab.

About This Dish

The four-component cupcakes engineered to taste like apple pie in every bite. A soft cinnamon sponge gets cored and filled with butter-braised apple pieces, piped over with cinnamon buttercream, and finished with a shattered oat crumble that mimics a pie's top crust. The technique borrows from filled-cupcake bakery methods - bake, cool, hollow, fill, pipe, garnish but the flavor architecture is pure apple pie: browned butter and brown sugar on the apples, warm cinnamon through every layer, and a crunch on top that breaks against the soft cake underneath.

The cinnamon does most of the heavy lifting here, and it appears in three separate components — the cake batter, the apple filling, and the buttercream. That means the quality and character of the cinnamon defines the entire cupcake. A stale, flat grocery-store cinnamon will make all three layers taste identical and monotonous. A fresh, aromatic cinnamon with concentrated essential oils gives each layer a slightly different expression of the same spice: warm and baked into the crumb, caramelized and concentrated in the apple filling, bright and aromatic in the uncooked buttercream. That layered effect is what separates a good cinnamon cupcake from one that just tastes like cinnamon was added.

This version uses Laskien Wild Cinnamon - a wild-harvested cinnamon with a delicate, layered sweetness and citrus-floral undertones that give each component its own character even though the same spice runs through all of them. The wild cinnamon is gentle enough to shine in the raw buttercream without turning bitter, and complex enough to hold up against the brown sugar and butter in the apple filling. The result is a cupcake that tastes layered and intentional, not just uniformly spiced.

Ingredients

Cinnamon Cake:

104g flour
½ tsp baking powder
Pinch of baking soda, salt
1 tsp cinnamon
56g soft butter
130g sugar
½ egg (~35g)
½ tsp vanilla
30g yogurt
90ml milk

Apple Filling:

2 large apples (1-inch cubes)
1 tbsp butter
1½ tsp Laskein cinnamon
3 tbsp brown sugar
Lemon squeeze

Buttercream:

100g icing sugar
40g butter
1 tsp Laskein cinnamon

Crumble:

50g cold butter (cubed)
3 tbsp oats
65g flour
25g sugar

Instructions

Cinnamon Cake

Preheat the oven to 170°C and place 5 cupcake paper liners into a muffin tray.
Sift the dry ingredients together (flour,baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon powder) and set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in the whisked egg to the butter and sugar mixture and continue whisking. Add in the vanilla extract, milk and yogurt and whisk until incorporated.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix. Add in remaining dry ingredients and mix until fully incorporated.
Spoon the batter into the paper liners until they’re 75% full leaving room for the cakes to rise.
Bake for 25 mins or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool completely before filling them.

Apple Filling

Add the butter and brown sugar to a saucepan on low heat and stir until the brown sugar has dissolved.
Add in the cubed apples and cinnamon powder and cook for 5-6 minutes. Don’t cook this for too long as it can easily overcook and the apples can lose structure.
Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and set aside.

Cinnamon Buttercream

Whisk together softened unsalted butter along with icing sugar and cinnamon powder until smooth.
Spoon the buttercream into a piping bag with the desired nozzle and set aside.

Oat Crumble

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Combine flour, cold cubed unsalted butter, sugar, salt and rolled oats into a bowl.
Using your fingers bring all the ingredients together until it resembles a dough.
Spread the dough into a 1” thick sheet and bake for 20-25 mins or until golden brown.
Break into smaller bits to be used as a garnish. Store the crumble in an air-tight container.

Final Assembly

Spoon out the centre of the cinnamon cake gently, keeping the base intact.
Fill the core with the apple filling.
Pipe the cinnamon buttercream over the rim of the cake and spoon some more of the apple filling into the centre.
Garnish with oat crumble and sliced apples.
Enjoy!

This Recipe Features

Laskein Wild Cinnamon

$11.00

Ways to Make It Your Own

Pear and Brown Butter Filling

Replace the apples with firm Bosc or Anjou pears, cut into the same small cubes. Pear has a softer, more floral sweetness than apple and pairs beautifully with cinnamon and brown sugar. To push the flavor further, brown the butter in the saucepan before adding the sugar — cook it over medium heat until the milk solids turn golden and it smells nutty, about 3–4 minutes, then proceed with the recipe as written. The browned butter adds a toasted, toffee-like depth that makes the filling taste more like a French tarte Tatin than a simple fruit compote. Watch the pears carefully; they soften faster than apples and need about a minute less cook time.

Cream Cheese Frosting Swap

Replace the cinnamon buttercream with a tangy cream cheese frosting: beat 120g of softened cream cheese with 60g of softened butter, then gradually add 150g of icing sugar and half a teaspoon of cinnamon. The tang of the cream cheese cuts through the sweetness of the brown sugar apple filling and creates a flavor profile closer to a classic carrot cake. This frosting is softer than buttercream, so pipe it slightly thicker and refrigerate the assembled cupcakes for 30 minutes before adding the crumble topping. The cream cheese version is especially good if you find straight buttercream too sweet.

Salted Caramel Drizzle Finish

Skip the oat crumble and finish the cupcakes with a salted caramel drizzle instead. Heat 100g of granulated sugar in a dry saucepan over medium heat without stirring until it melts and turns amber, then carefully whisk in 60ml of warm cream and a generous pinch of flaky sea salt. Let it cool until it thickens enough to drizzle from a spoon. The caramel adds a bittersweet, salty contrast to the cinnamon buttercream that tastes more sophisticated than the crumble version — less rustic, more patisserie. Drizzle in thin lines across the buttercream and let it set for five minutes before serving.

Gluten-Free Version

Swap the all-purpose flour in both the cake and the oat crumble for a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour (Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur work reliably). Use certified gluten-free rolled oats in the crumble. The cake batter may be slightly thicker — add an extra tablespoon of milk to thin it to the same consistency as the original. Gluten-free sponges tend to dome more in the oven, so fill the liners only to 65% rather than 75%. The apple filling and buttercream are naturally gluten-free and need no changes. The texture will be slightly denser than the wheat version, but the cinnamon and apple flavors come through identically.

Why These Ingredients Matter

Laskien Wild Cinnamon

Wild-harvested rather than plantation-grown, Laskien Wild Cinnamon has a delicate sweetness, citrus undertones, and a floral complexity that cassia bark can't replicate. In these cupcakes, the cinnamon appears in three distinct contexts — baked into the sponge, cooked into the brown-sugar apple filling, and folded raw into buttercream — and each context draws out a different facet of the spice. True cinnamon is also lower in coumarin than cassia, which matters when you're using it this generously across multiple components. The flavor is warm without being sharp, sweet without being cloying, and it fades gracefully rather than leaving a harsh aftertaste.

Apples

Choose a firm, tart-sweet apple that holds its shape when cooked — Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Braeburn all work well. Softer varieties like McIntosh or Gala will break down into mush in the brown sugar butter, which makes the filling difficult to spoon into the cupcake cores. Cut the apples into small, uniform cubes (roughly 1cm) so they fit neatly inside the hollowed-out cake without creating air pockets. The five-to-six-minute cook time in the recipe is deliberate: long enough to soften the exterior and absorb the brown sugar syrup, short enough that the cubes keep a slight bite in the center.

Brown Sugar

Brown sugar does double duty in the apple filling — it provides caramel sweetness and the molasses content adds a toffee-like depth that white sugar can't match. Dark brown sugar gives a more pronounced, almost butterscotch flavor, while light brown sugar is more subtle. Either works, but dark brown sugar produces a richer, more "baked pie" character in the filling. When combined with butter over low heat, the brown sugar dissolves into a quick caramel sauce that coats the apple cubes and thickens slightly as it cools, making the filling spoonable rather than runny.

Butter

The recipe calls for butter in three components — the cake, the apple filling, and the buttercream — and the temperature matters differently each time. For the cake batter, the butter should be at cool room temperature (about 18–20°C / 65–68°F) so it creams properly with the sugar and traps air. For the apple filling, it melts on contact with the pan and combines with the brown sugar. For the buttercream, it needs to be genuinely soft — not melted, not cold — so the icing sugar incorporates smoothly without lumps. Using unsalted butter throughout gives you full control over the salt level in each component.

Yogurt

The yogurt in the cake batter serves two functions: its acidity activates the baking soda for a better rise, and its fat content keeps the crumb moist and tender. Full-fat plain yogurt works best. Greek yogurt is fine but slightly thicker, so the batter may need an extra splash of milk to reach the right consistency. The yogurt also extends the cupcakes' shelf life by keeping the crumb from drying out over the first day or two — important for a filled cupcake that takes time to assemble.

Tips & Storage

Cool the Cakes Completely Before Coring

Resist the urge to start filling while the cakes are still warm. A warm cupcake tears when you scoop out the center, and the heat will melt the buttercream on contact. Let the cakes cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely — at least 45 minutes, or until the bottom of the cake feels room temperature to the touch. If you're working in a warm kitchen, 15 minutes in the fridge after the initial cool-down firms the crumb and makes coring much cleaner.

Don't Overcook the Apple Filling

Five to six minutes in the brown sugar butter is the window. The apples should be softened on the outside but still have a slight resistance when you press a cube with the back of a spoon. Overcooked apples collapse into a wet, jammy paste that's impossible to spoon neatly into the cupcake core and makes the surrounding cake soggy. Pull the pan off the heat a touch early — the residual heat in the butter-sugar syrup will carry over another minute of cooking. The lemon juice at the end stops the cooking and adds brightness that cuts the sweetness.

Core Gently, Keep the Base Intact

Use a small paring knife or a cupcake corer to cut a circle about 2cm wide and 2cm deep from the center of each cake. The most common mistake is going too deep and puncturing the bottom — the filling leaks through and the cupcake sits in a puddle of brown sugar syrup. Leave at least 1cm of cake at the base. Save the scooped-out cake plugs; you can trim them flat and press them back on top of the filling before piping the buttercream, which creates a more stable platform for the icing.

Assembly Order and Storage

Assemble in this order: core, fill with apples, pipe buttercream, then crumble and sliced apple garnish last. Assembled cupcakes store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, but the crumble will soften — so if you're making these for an event, do everything except the crumble garnish the night before and add it just before serving. Bring the cupcakes to room temperature for 20–30 minutes before eating; cold buttercream is stiff and mutes the cinnamon flavor, while room-temperature buttercream is silky and aromatic.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best apple variety for apple pie cupcakes?

Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, and Braeburn are the best choices because they hold their shape when cooked in butter and brown sugar. Avoid soft varieties like McIntosh or Gala, which break down into mush and make the filling too wet to pipe into cupcake cores. Cut the apples into small uniform cubes (roughly 1cm) so they fit neatly inside the hollowed-out cake.

Can I make apple pie cupcakes ahead of time?

You can bake the cinnamon cakes and make the oat crumble up to 2 days ahead — store cakes in an airtight container at room temperature and crumble in a separate sealed container. The apple filling can be made a day ahead and refrigerated. Assemble no more than 4–6 hours before serving. The buttercream softens and the crumble loses its crunch if the cupcakes sit assembled overnight.

Does the type of cinnamon matter in baking?

Significantly, especially in a recipe where cinnamon appears in multiple components. Fresh, high-quality cinnamon with concentrated essential oils produces a more complex, layered flavor — warm and baked in the sponge, caramelized in the filling, bright and aromatic in the raw buttercream. Stale pre-ground cinnamon delivers a flat, one-dimensional warmth that tastes the same across every component. Wild-harvested cinnamon retains more of its volatile oils than plantation-grown varieties, which gives it more depth and aromatic range in baking.

How do I keep the oat crumble from getting soggy on cupcakes?

Add the crumble as the very last step, just before serving. The crumble stays crisp for about 4–6 hours once it contacts the buttercream. Store baked crumble separately in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days and add it at the last moment. If it does soften slightly, spread it on a baking sheet and re-crisp in a 180°C oven for 3–4 minutes.

Why Our Spices Make a Difference

Every spice in this recipe comes from a farmer we know by name. Lab-tested for purity, harvested at peak season, and shipped within weeks, unlike the years it takes for grocery stores to stock their spices. Meet our farmers

✓ Lab Tested ✓ Direct Trade ✓ Single Origin

Published January 28, 2026 Updated February 12, 2026