In the colder months of autumn and winter (well, any time of the year really!) we love to make this gorgeous toffee apple-inspired cupcake recipe. It’s fruity, warmly spiced and, best of all, oh-so-boozy with a hearty helping of gin.

With their autumnal glow, these deliciously sweet treats make for great Halloween party snacks and they are ideal for bonfire night too.

What’s more, the cupcake recipe is really easy and quick to make at home. So what are you waiting for? Give it a go today!

Our spiced sponge recipe gives you a light and fluffy cupcake that’s perfect for delivering the creamy toffee and fruity apple elements of this sumptuous treat.

The frosting is rich and silky smooth, with butter, cream cheese and mascarpone being flavoured by gin-laced apple compote and toffee sauce.

Hidden under the frosting is an abundant well of even more delicious, boozy apple compote waiting to be discovered.

Finished with a hearty helping of toffee sauce drizzled over the top, it’s sure to become your new favourite!

Spiced Toffee Apple Cupcakes
With a good glug of gin!

Which gin should I use in this baking recipe?

Any London Dry could work here as those rich juniper tones add complexity to the apple and toffee flavours of the bake.

However, our first choice would either be Kongsgaard Raw Gin from Denmark, as it is made with Danish apples and has beautiful orchard fruit notes or a spiced gin like Ludlow Spiced Gin No. 3 to complement the autumnal spices we have used for the sponge.

Whichever gin you choose, you are in for a treat!

Makes nine cupcakes
For the sponge:
130g golden caster sugar
130g self-rising flour
130g soft butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs
3 tbsp milk

For the apple icing and filling:
4 large apples, peeled, cored and diced small (ideally an apple that stays firm when cooked like a Braeburn, Gala or Granny Smith)
25g butter (for the apple filling)
150g softened butter (for the frosting)
Juice of half a lemon
150g icing sugar
100g mascarpone
100g full-fat cream cheese
1 cinnamon stick
100ml gin

For the toffee sauce:
60g unsalted butter
125g dark brown sugar
1 tbsp black treacle
125ml double cream
A pinch of salt

1. Preheat your oven to 200c. To make the cupcake sponge, cream together the butter, sugar, lemon zest and spices. Mix in vanilla extract and then the eggs one at a time. Sift the flour into the bowl and fold into the mixture - only do this until no dry flour can be seen, it’s important not to overwork the cake batter. Stir in the milk to loosen the batter - it should be really soft but still able to just hold its shape. Divide the batter evenly between nine paper cupcake cases (roughly a heaped tablespoon in each one) and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the cupcakes are golden on top and spongy to the touch. Leave to cool on a cake rack.
   
   2. Make an apple compote for the filling and frosting by adding the apples to a saucepan on medium heat with 25g of butter, the cinnamon stick and the lemon juice. Stew until the apple is tender and then remove from the heat and stir in the gin. Leave the compote to cool and then remove the cinnamon stick. Remove one-third of the compote and blend until smooth.
   
   3. Make the toffee sauce by adding all of the ingredients to a cold saucepan and slowly bringing up the temperature to medium-high heat. Allow the sauce to bubble softly until it is smooth and creamy, with a rich toffee colour. Feel free to stir the sauce to aid the process once the sugar has dissolved. The longer you bubble the sauce, the thicker and darker it will be. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
   
   4. Make the apple frosting by creaming together the softened butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Fold in the cream cheese and the mascarpone. Fold in the smooth half of the apple compote and roughly two tablespoons of the toffee sauce (add more if you want the frosting to be sweeter).
   
   5. Construct the cupcakes by making a hole in the top of the sponges big enough to hold a teaspoonful of the apple compote. Fill the holes with a teaspoon of the compote and then cover with frosting. Dizzle over the toffee sauce and enjoy!