Fall Cupcake Challenge

A local cupcakery is having a contest for fall cupcake recipes. I like spicecake, applecrisp and anything made with brown sugar so I came up with this recipe. My dad was my guinea pig. He has no cupcake pans at his house so I used actual cups to bake in. They turned out pretty yummy.

Apple Crisp Spice Cupcake with Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting.

Ingredients:

Cake
1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Apple Crisp Filling
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups apples - peeled, cored and chopped into ½ inch pieces
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Mix apples, cinnamon and sugar together.
Combine brown sugar, oats, flour with melted butter until crumbly.

Brown Sugar Buttercream
3 large egg whites
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons

Preparation:
Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Cream butter in a mixing bowl; add brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat at high speed of an electric mixer for 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Scrape bowl often. Add sifted dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk, mixing at lowest speed just until smooth.
Pour batter into lined cupcake pans. Take a spoonful of apple mixture making a depression in batter so that the apples sit in middle. Sprinkle apples with the oat mixture. Bake at 350° 15 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on rack for 5 minutes, turn out of pans onto racks to cool completely. Frost lightly with dollop, or a piped rosette, of buttercream,.
Frosting:
In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, whisk together egg whites, sugar, and salt. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch. Transfer to the clean bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until fluffy and cooled, about 15 minutes. Raise speed to high; beat until stiff peaks form. Reduce speed to medium-low; add butter, 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, until fully incorporated.