Back-to-School Apple Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

1 box (15.25 oz/432 g) vanilla cake mix

18 pretzel sticks

Icing:

1/3 cup (75 mL) butter, softened

3 cups (750 mL) icing sugar

1/4 cup (60 mL) Graves Apple juice

1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

Red and green gel food colouring

Directions

1. Cupcakes: Line 2 muffin tins with 18 paper liners. Place one 1/2-inch (1 cm) round foil ball snugly between each cupcake liner and muffin tin to create divot (to create the shape of apple top). Prepare and bake cupcakes as per package instructions

2. Icing: In bowl, whisk butter for 2 to 3 minutes or until light and creamy; beat in icing sugar, apple juice and vanilla until smooth. Transfer 1/4 cup (60 mL) icing to separate bowl; stir in green food colouring.

    

   Stir red food colouring into remaining icing. Using piping bag with round tip, pipe red icing around edge of cupcake tops. Fill in outline with remaining red icing; smooth top with palette. Using separate piping bag with leaf tip, pipe green icing leaf onto each cupcake. Stick pretzel into each cupcake divot.

3. Tip:  Replace apple juice with milk or water if desired.