Fall is my favorite season; it’s hard to like the three others as much when it’s so full of wonderful produce like pumpkins and apples!  This is why I am so glad that my birthday comes around with it, I get inspired to make delicious desserts for others, and (mostly) myself, using these ingredients.  I went apple picking a little ways away from where I live and had a surplus of local, organic apples; and what better way to use them then in cupcakes?

Servings: 20 Cupcakes

Ingredients For Cupcakes:

• 1 ½ Cups
  Unbleached All Purpose Flour
• 1 ½ Cups Whole
  Wheat Flour
• 2 tsp. Baking
  Soda
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 ½ tsp.
  Cinnamon
• ½ tsp. Nutmeg
• 1 Cup Oil
  (Olive, Coconut, Grapeseed, Canola, etc.)
• 1 Cup Sugar
• ¾ Cup Fig Puree,
  Blended Figs
• 1 ½ Tbsp.
  Vanilla Extract
• 1 Tbsp. Apple
  Cider Vinegar
• 3 Cups Chopped
  Apples, about ¼” Squared
• 1 Cup Chopped
  Pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to
   350°F. Combine flours, baking soda, salt,
   cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Sift together until there are no
   chunks. In another bowl combine oil, sugar, fig puree, vanilla, and apple
   cider vinegar; stir together until even and smooth.
2. Mix the wet
   mixture into the dry mixture and combine very well, then add in the
   chopped apples. The mixture will be very chunky, so take about 3 quarters
   of it and place it in a food processor; pulse together until the apple
   chunks are much smaller and the batter is more of a paste. Add that batter
   back to the unblended portion along with the pecans and stir together.
3. Using an ice
   cream scoop, scoop batter into cupcake pans with liners so that the batter
   is about ¾ of the way up on the liner. If you are using two cupcake pans
   at the same time place them on two different racks in your oven and bake
   for 12 minutes, then switch racks and bake for an addition 10-12 minutes
   or until your toothpick comes out clean. Set on cooling rack and continue
   on to making the frosting.

Ingredients for Frosting:

• 2 Cups Raw
  Cashews, Soaked for 2 hours or more
• 2 Tbsp. Maple
  Syrup
• 1 Tbsp. Agave Nectar
• 2 tsp. Vanilla
  Extract
• ¾ Cup Water
• 1 tsp. Cinnamon

Directions:

1. Place all
   ingredients into a high-speed blender, and puree until very smooth. Cool
   in refrigerator for 30 minutes, then spread roughly 1 Tbsp. of frosting
   per cupcake.

Ingredients for Apple Chip Garnish:

• 2 Small Apples, Cored
  and Sliced thinly
• 2 Tbsp. Brown
  Sugar
• 1 tsp. Cinnamon

Directions:

2. Preheat oven to 350°F, place apple slices on baking sheet and
   sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over them. Bake for 10-12 minutes or
   until the edges start to curl up a little bit. Take them out to cool then
   garnish the cupcakes with them.