I’m re-publishing these pumpkin cupcakes today, because I thought they deserved some new pictures, they are really tasty, and it’s pumpkin season! But do I really need an excuse to make cupcakes? I don’t think so! I’ve tweaked the recipe slightly over the years and I’ve updated it below. Enjoy!
I decided to celebrate the official start of fall with something pumpkin. What better than cupcakes, right? I’ve made pumpkin cupcakes before and was disappointed. I wanted a cupcake, not a muffin, and lots of pumpkin flavor so I started looking for a new recipe. I found one that looked promising and while it had more pumpkin than most I decided to add even more pumpkin! I topped them with a cream cheese frosting too…very tasty!
I’ve been on fall break this week and I think it’s rained parts of every day. Not enough to keep me from doing anything outside or running, but just enough to keep everything wet and from getting very good pictures. Luckily, the sun came out for about 5 minutes just after I finished icing these cupcakes and I hurried outside to get some pictures before it started raining again. The lighting was perfect and the grass looked so green. =) I’ve been working in the cane all week and we are taking it to Vernon tomorrow for them to cook it into molasses. They said we should have around 30 gallons (!!!), so I may start baking with more molasses. =) Enjoy!
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes (recipe updated October 2017)
For the cupcakes:
2-2/3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt
1(15 0z) can pumpkin puree
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs
For the frosting:
3/4 cup butter, slightly softened
6 oz cream cheese, cold
8 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp milk or heavy cream
1. To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. With the mixture on low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing just until incorporated.
4. Fill the cupcake liners using a 3 tbsp scoop. Bake until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the pans and let cool completely.
5. To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired. Makes ~30 cupcakes.
*adapted from Annie’s Eats
