In a small bowl, combine the maple syrup and cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Mix well and set aside.

Wash and dry the apples.

Preheat the oven to 350F/180C/gas mark 4.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S-blade attachment, add the other ingredients (flour through nutmeg) except for the yogurt or creamer. Pulse on a low setting until the mixture looks like crumbly small peas. With the machine running, add the yogurt or creamer. You'll have to scrape the sides down and then finish mixing it evenly with a spatula after removing the S-blade.

Set out 12 silicone muffin cups on a baking sheet, or fill a standard muffin pan with 12 paper liners (spray the liners with cooking spray). Put one slightly rounded tablespoonful of batter into each cup. If you have a little left over, divide it evenly among the 12 cups.

Slice each apple in half lengthwise, carefully remove the stem and base with a paring knife, and use a grapefruit spoon to remove the core and seeds. A grapefruit spoon works better than a paring knife for this, as it's too easy to cut big chunks out of the tiny apples with a knife.

Slice each half in thin slices almost to the end, so you leave one end uncut. Carefully fan out the slices as best you can, then smoosh the apple, cut side down, onto the dough so it fills in the bottom of the muffin cup completely. If you are not using miniature apples, just cut thin slices and arrange a few, cut side down, on top of each cake, pressing them into the dough.

Drizzle about 1 t. (5 ml) of glaze over the top of each cake.

Bake for 14-15 minutes until the cake is golden brown and springs back firmly when pressed with a finger. Let cool on a wire rack. Once they are cool, you can carefully loosen the silicone form and pop out each cake.

Just before serving, drizzle with a small amount of boiled cider.

Pour the juice or cider into a large, non-reactive deep pot (not iron or aluminum, something with a ceramic liner works great).

Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once it begins to boil, turn down the heat just enough to keep the cider at a full boil. Do not cover.

Check every hour. It took me about six hours to boil the cider down. You want to watch it pretty carefully in the last hour. It should reduce to one-seventh of its original volume. You're looking for it to get really foamy and boily at the end.

How to test if it's finished: Dip a spoon in it (blow on it a little so you don't burn yourself), then drag your finger across the back of the spoon. You should be able to see the trail your finger left. It won't be thick like syrup until it cools down completely. If it's too thick when it cools you can thin it later with filtered water. I thinned it a little too much for the photo, but it still tasted delicious.

Pour into a clean, sterile jar or bottle and store indefinitely in the refrigerator.