In September, I started a cupcake adventure. If you haven't read about it yet, you can do so here. ***
One of the most mouth-watering photos in the cookbook is from the "Gourmet Cupcakes" chapter: Tarte Tatin Cupcakes with Caramelized Apples (Lord, have mercy!)
And having a fridge full of fresh apples from Nebraska (thanks, Grandpa!), this proved to be the perfect recipe to tackle next.
The batter was fairly typical, but used brown sugar rather than white, like most of the other recipes do. So, naturally, these smelled extra yummy while they were baking.
Next, I peeled four nice, crisp apples from my grandparents' orchard...
and cut each one into 16 slices.
Next, I melted some butter in a shallow skillet and squeezed on as many apples as I could so I wouldn't have to do more than 2 batches of frying!
YUM! Look at how they bubble. Mmm.
There's definitely an art to caramelizing an apple just right. And I've only got 2 years of gas-stovetop experience under my belt. Some looked perfect, while others got a little dark. I was extra-careful to arrange the over-cooked ones dark-side-down on the cupcakes.
Next, you pile a few apple slices on top of each cupcake.
That alone makes a pretty presentation.
But if you want to go in for the kill, you can drizzle a little bit of caramel sauce over the top! :) The instructions included a recipe for caramel glaze, but I ran out of time before Andrew and I had to be at Bible study, so I just used the store-bought caramel used for topping ice cream. If you zap it in the microwave for just a few seconds, it has the perfect consistency!
Whew. I'm definitely going to make these again once I get through the rest of the book. :)
Here's the final result, packed in my carrier and ready to travel!
