Apple Spice Toffee Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Glaze

I love making homemade treats from scratch but I don't always have the time to throw the ingredients together so I like having a mix or two on hand so I can whip up something semi-homemade in a pinch. As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program I was given a box of Duncan Hines cake mix as well as Comstock-Wilderness Fruit Filling to make a delicious dessert.

I'm very familiar with Duncan Hines and I knew I wanted to use the spice cake mix because there are so many different things you can do to dress up a spice cake mix. I wasn't familiar with Comstock fruit fillings but the apple looked delicious and would pair well with the spice cake. I needed a quick dessert for Thanksgiving dinner and thought an apple spice muffin would be perfect.

After getting things together I wanted to go a little more fancy and decided on an apple spice toffee cupcake with a brown sugar glaze. I know the Duncan Hines spice cake is filled with spicy notes and bakes up moist. The addition of the sweet apples was a perfect contrast to the spicy cake mix. The Comstock apple filling can is made with apple slices that would be great in a pie. I cut mine into pieces to mix with the batter. I then added some toffee chips and baked up the cupcakes then finished them off with brown sugar glaze.

The resulting cupcakes were sweet, spicy, and delicious. They were moist and the pieces of toffee and apple really added a nice fall inspired flavor to the spice cake. The sugary sweet brown sugar glaze was a great addition to this cupcake. The best part was everyone thought I had made them from scratch and all 2 dozen were gone by the end of the night!

Apple Spice Toffee Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Glaze
1 box Duncan Hines spice cake mix
2 eggs
3 T. oil
¾ c. water
1 ½ c. Comstock-Wilderness apple filling
¾ c. toffee pieces

For the glaze:
½ c. brown sugar

4 T. butter, softened

1 t. vanilla

1 c. powdered sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, oil, and water. Mix until well combined.

3. Add in the spice cake mix and stir until combined. Add in the apple filling and toffee pieces and mix for 1 minute or until ingredients are blended.

4. Fill each muffin cup ¾ of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

5. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in the brown sugar and continue heating and stirring for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Add in the powdered sugar a few tablespoons at a time, whisking as you go to avoid lumps.