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I’ve fallen in love with Danish home and garden lifestyle Youtuber, Henriette Soby. Her style is earthy, nature-based, and she is the most authentic creator I’ve seen in this space. She embodies all things European (she’s Danish living in London), homespun, and hygge.

Like everyone, I adore all things autumn . . . decorating, baking, crafting, and cozy sweater weather. What I don’t love is the constant emphasis on consumerism this time of year. “Fall Hauls” are both tasteless and devoid of the very creative, collaborative feeling they attempt to create. Nothing wrong with gathering and purchasing items from here and there, but when the entire video reads as a Michael’s / Dollar Tree / Home Goods / Amazon fill-in-the-blank-big-box infomercial filled with plastic and purchase of . . . let’s just call it what it is . . . junk . . . I just tune out.

Soby’s approach is organic. It’s about working in and with nature, with found objects, and handicraft that involves an insane amount of twine. (Check out her beautifully handcrafted baskets . . . I’m an avid knitter and she has inspired me to learn crochet).

The best treat of all, Soby bakes at the end of every video. When Soby suggested a fall apple cupcake bake at the end of her Fall Porch Decor video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80YYSRKhzZI), I had to try it for myself. In this video, she references a Jane’s Patisserie recipe, https://www.janespatisserie.com/2017/09/04/apple-crumble-cupcakes/ and explains “they’re absolutely excellent and you can’t go wrong.”

When I embarked on the recipe, I immediately stumbled on the European measurements. You can convert to ounces, but it seems there is still a bit of disconnect. I took the time to write everything in cups and unit volumes.

The recipe also calls for caster sugar, which we call “superfine” or “baker’s” sugar here in the U.S. I don’t bake with caster’s sugar as it can be difficult to find and it dissolves faster into baked recipes, requiring a longer bake time for some things. So, I converted the recipe using standard granulated sugar. She also recommends self-rising flour. She also uses light brown sugar; I prefer dark. I find it has a more robust, complex flavor and it’s what I keep on hand. I don’t normally have this on hand, so my recipe instead includes the ingredients of self-rising flour: all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

I also found the streusel topping difficult to bake up on the cupcake. Mine came out mushy instead of dry and crunch. So instead, I changed how I applied it to the finished piece. My other issue was volumes. I found the cake batter and buttercream barely made 12 finished pieces and I was left with a lot of streusel crumble left over, so I adjusted the volumes a bit.

Finally, I make my cake a more complex spice cake, including ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, and cloves and I enhanced the buttercream frosting by making it a cinnamon maple flavor. So, I include a link to Jane’s recipe above and I consider it “inspiration,” but these cupcakes will come out a bit differently. What I loved best about her recipe is the firm yet yielding sweet apple infusion and I didn’t change a bit of that part. Enjoy!

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Apple Streusel Maple Cupcakes

Yields 12 cupcakes | Prep Time :20 | Total Cook Time :25

CUPCAKE

• 8 oz. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1¼ cup flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. ground ginger
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. cloves
• ¼ tsp. cardamom
• 3 eggs

APPLE FILLING

• 12 oz. apple (about 3 medium apples), peeled and diced ½ inch thick (processed weight)
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar

STREUSEL

• 4 oz. unsalted butter, cold
• 4 oz. flour
• 2 oz. granulated sugar

MAPLE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

• 16 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• real maple syrup (do not use processed syrups)
• 2 tsp. maple extract
• ½ tsp. cinnamon

EQUIPMENT

• full-size 12 cupcake pan
• full-size cupcake papers
• mixer
• sheet pan
• aluminum foil
• pastry bag
• pastry tip

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Line pan with cupcake papers.
3. Peel, core, dice apples. Mix in 3 tbsp. brown sugar and set aside.
4. Cube cold butter into ¼ inch pieces.
5. In bowl, combine cold butter pieces, flour, and sugar.
6. Mix together and rub between fingers to create mealy blend. When you scoop up and squeeze in your hand, mixture should take shape but still be a bit loose and crumbly.
7. Bake streusel topping on aluminum foil atop sheet pan for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
8. While streusel bakes, in a mixer bowl, beat softened butter and brown sugar on high until fluffy, about 5-7 minutes.
9. Add eggs and blend.
10. Add cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and blend.
11. Fold in apple mixture. Set aside.
12. When streusel is done, set aside to cool.
13. Spoon into cupcake papers, about 2⁄3 full.
14. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
15. Brush top with a bit of butter, which will melt easily, then sprinkle layer of streusel atop.
16. Once topped, transfer to a rack to cool completely.
17. For the buttercream, beat the butter until fluffy.
18. Add confectioner’s sugar ½ cup and then ½ tsp. of maple extract and the cinnamon. Add in remaining sugar and extract and alternate blending as you go.
19. Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes.
20. Sprinkle generous amount of streusel crumble atop and enjoy.