• Prepare a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside.

To prepare the apples

• Preheat the oven to 400°F, and adjust a rack to the center. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, mix the lemon juice with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Peel, core and slice the apples very thinly. You should have 3 cups. Add them to the bowl and then drizzle the melted butter over them and mix gently until they're well coated. Now add them to the parchment-lined sheet pan and spread them out in a fairly even layer.

  Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake just until the apples are soft, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Turn the oven heat down to 375°F.

For the batter

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter with the sugar and vanilla. Mix for about 1 minute on high. Then add the eggs and mix until they're incorporated. Add the buttermilk and apple butter and mix to blend.
• Fold the dry ingredients into the wet, and use a large spoon or rubber spatula and mix just until you no longer see dry spots.
• Now fold in the softened apples and the raisins. (Be sure to get as much of the butter as you can off of the parchment paper.)
• Fill the prepared muffin cups evenly - each should be about to the top. Set aside.

For the topping

• In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar with the nuts and cinnamon. Then use your fingers to incorporate the butter so the mixture becomes crumbly.

  Evenly distribute the topping on the surface of each muffin.

Bake

• Place the muffin tin on a sheet pan and then place in preheated 375°F oven. Bake until they've risen a bit above the top of the cups and are golden, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Let them cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.