Saturday, November 20, 2010

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Take a look below. This is how many spices go into making pumpkin spice cupcakes. They aren't lying about the spice part, right?

A co worker brought in pumpkin spice bread last week and since then i had the urge to make them into cupcakes. Since my plans got canceled today and it was raining cats and dogs i decided to stay home all day and bake. For no one. Anyone want cupcakes? No, really.

Recipe here. I actually followed it step by step and am 95% happy with them. I just need to find a way to make all of my cupcakes more... moist? I need an official tasting team too. I don't know if thats possible though. ALL MY FRIENDS DON'T EVEN WANT MY CUPCAKES ANYMORE! whatever.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
Makes 24. Exactly.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup milk
1 cup pumpkin puree

Sift together the flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, allspice, salt, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.

(Use an actual sifter. This is what it looks like.)


(Why do you need one? To mix it all together, but also to catch bigger pieces in the ground spices. Cuz who wants to eat a little piece of clove?)

Beat the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Then add eggs one at a time.

Now time for the pumpking! Which kinda looks like baby food...



I mixed the milk and pumpkin together in one (big) cup. Then i added the 1/4 of the flour mixture and mixed, then 1/3 of the milk/pumpkin , then 1/4 of the flour... alternating until i ended with the last of the flour.

The batter smelled soooo good and pumpkin spicy. It was actually really thick, thicker than expected and made EXACTLY 24 cupcakes.

Cooked at 350* for about 21 minutes.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese,
softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the confectioners' sugar a little at a time until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; beat until fluffy.

It's a very pretty frosting. The cinnamon makes it look fancier :) And it makes JUST enough to frost all 24 cupcakes.


I had my mom and brother try them. My brother ate three. My mom ate two.. sans frosting. And reminded me that she hated the chocolate peanut butter ones that i had made... lol

I'll be dropping off another 16 later today.... If they receive good enough reviews, i might remake it just as pumpkin bread for Thanksgiving.



xoxo,
Anna