Apple Streusel Cupcakes

October is almost over and I haven't done any baking with apples! Well, aside from my Thanksgiving apple pie... but I don't entirely count that because I make apple pie a couple times a year, every year. So I decided to make some apple muffins and tea for breakfast this morning. However... the thought of drinking tea quickly lost its appeal the more I thought about it, so I drank coffee and the boyfriend drank a cup of chai tea. And the recipe I ended up wanting to make didn't actually have apples in them. So I still haven't baked with apples yet this season... though I still intend to! I do have a cake in mind, but we'll see if I get to it... maybe next week! In the meantime, apple streusel cupcakes from one of my beautiful cookbooks, Cupcakes, Muffins & Baked Goods which I've resolved to make more from. So far so good... these were delicious!

Apple Streusel Cupcakes

Batter:

1/2 tsp baking powder

10 oz applesauce

4 tbsp butter (margarine)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 1/4 cups self-rising white flour *

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Topping:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

2 1/2 tbsp butter (margarine)

* I don't bother buying self-rising flour, I just make my own - sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a ratio of 1 cup flour : 1 1/2 tsp baking powder : 1/2 tsp salt.

The topping is easy, just mix all the ingredients together until they are crumbly and fully blended. I use my fingers... it's just easier that way, but a fork would work well enough too.

To make the muffins (cupcakes, as the book calls them) blend the sugar and butter together, then add the egg. Separately dissolve the baking powder in the applesauce. Combine the dry ingredients. Then alternately add the applesauce and the dry mixture to the sugar, butter, and egg. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, about 2/3 full, then crumble the topping over them.

Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes, until they have risen and are golden brown. The recipe says it will make about 14 cucpakes... I made a half batch and got 4 very large ones. So who knows, maybe it would be more like 8-10 in a full batch. Next time I think I'll throw some diced apple pieces into the batter to add a bit more texture and a stronger apple flavour. Either way though, these were fantastic!