Sour Apple Cupcakes

Sour apple cupcakes.  Yeah, I know what you’re thinking.  It’s sparked your curiosity, right?  Well, it certainly got mine when I started brainstorming a recipe for these guys.  It’s definitely not your “typical” cupcake flavor, but hey…sometimes it’s kinda nice to step out of the box of what’s normal.  😉

The icing also has a little bit of a sour apple flavor to it as well.  Double whammy!  Most of the flavor is in the cupcake though, and of course if you want a little more kick in flavor, add some Sour Apple Pucker Schnapps to the batter.  What?  Yep!  Just use 1/2 cup of the pucker and 1/2 cup of the apple martini mix.  For those of you who may be concerned about cooking with liquor, the alcohol content is actually baked out of the cupcake, only leaving the flavor.  I actually threw in a little bit of green food coloring to the batter to add to the presentation of the sour apple flavor.  Mmmm, green apple.

Sour Apple Cupcakes Recipe:

1 box Duncan Hines white cake mix

1 small box vanilla instant pudding

1/2 cup oil

4 eggs

1 cup sour apple martini mix (it’s non-alcoholic)

1 tablespoon sweet ‘n sour mix

8 oz. sour cream

Beat all ingredients at medium speed with electric mixer until well blended, about 3-4 minutes.  Spoon into lined cupcake pan using ice cream scoop and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 24 minutes.  Cool completely before icing.  Top with sour apple icing.

Sour Apple Icing Recipe:

2 lbs powdered sugar

1 cup shortening

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup sour apple martini mix

2 teaspoons sweet ‘n sour mix

Cream the butter and shortening together on medium speed for 3-4 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and continue on medium speed for 5-7 minutes.