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Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

28 Sep

Although the weather isn’t agreeing too much to the change of seasons, the pumpkins are on the stands and the apples are ready to be picked from the trees. This is one of my favorite seasons for baking because it’s the time of year where I get to include all the warm spices into my baking. It’s the season of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and so much more! All those spices that make you want to curl up in front of the fire-place and watch an old movie. I’ve been on a pumpkin kick lately and whats better than pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg with a dollop of maple flavored frosting on top?

Now, you may look at what you’ll need and think “wow! That’s a lot of stuff”, but I promise it’s an easy recipe to follow and all the ingredients can be found in your local supermarket. So have fun with it and play with the flavorings, that’s the best part of fall!

What You’ll Need:

For the Cupcakes:

  • 1 Cup of All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 tsp of Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp of Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp of Salt
  • 1 tsp of Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp of Ground Ginger
  • 1/2 tsp of Ground Nutmeg
  • 2 Extra-Large eggs – Room Temperature
  • 1 Cup of Canned Pumpkin Puree (8 ounces)
  • 1/2 Cup of Granulated Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup of Light Brown Sugar, lightly packed
  • 1/2 Cup of vegetable Oil

For the Frosting:

  • 6 Ounces of Cream Cheese – Room Temperature
  • 3 tbs of Unsalted Butter – Room Temperature
  • 1/4 tsp of Natural Maple Flavor
  • 1/2 tsp of Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Cups of sifted Confectioners’ Sugar

To Prepare:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
  • Brush or spray the top of the muffin tins with vegetable oil and line them with paper liners

Directions:

In a medium bowl, sift together  the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vegetable oil.

Add the flour mixture into the liquid and stir until combined. You’ll notice that the batter will begin to lighten a bit.

Divide the batter between the prepared tins. I used an ice cream scoop to make insure and even amount of batter in each cup and fill about 3/4 of the way up. Bake the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside and let them cool completely.

Now for the frosting! As the cupcakes are cooling you can start preparing the maple frosting. In a large bowl, use a rubber spatula to cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Stir in the maple flavoring and vanilla extract. Slowly add in the confectioners’ sugar and mix until smooth.

Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, spread the maple frosting over the top and enjoy!!

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4th of July Cupcakes

1 Jul

Most weekends in the summer I try to get out of Manhattan and head to the beach in Jersey. I’ve already made it down a couple of times, but the weather has unfortunately not been on my side. This weekend they are projecting blue sky in the mid 80s and at 3pm today I will leaving the office, heading to Penn Station and getting on the train with a group of friends to head down to the beach!

So, in the spirit of the long 4th of July weekend I decided it would be the perfect time for some Red, White and Blue Cupcakes. I had to incorporate some chocolate in there somewhere, so I created chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and decorated them with strawberries and blue berries.

What You’ll Need:

For the Cupcakes:

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup baking cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • Frosting of your choice

For the Frosting

  • 1 Stick (1/2 Cup) Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)
  • 8 Ounces Cream Cheese
  • 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 16 Ounces Confectioners’ Sugar (2 Cups)

To Prepare:

  • Preheat the oven to 375
  • Spray the cupcake tray with butter and place the cupcake inserts

Directions:

Cupcakes

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs and vanilla until fully combined.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternating between water and buttermilk. Make sure to beat well after each addition.

Fill the paper liners 2/3 of the way up with the cupcake mixture. I’ve always found it easiest to fill the cupcakes with an ice cream scoop so that each cup as the same about of mixture in it. Bake the cupcakes for about 12 – 15 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the middle comes out clean. Once removed from the oven, let them cool for 10 minutes.

Frosting:

In the meantime, while the cupcakes are cooling, we can prepare the cream cheese frosting. To make the frosting, we will cream together the butter, cream cheese and sugar.

Place 1 tablespoon sized pieces of butter in the bowl with a mixer and add in tablespoon sized pieces of cream cheese. Cream together on medium speed until combined. Add in the vanilla extract and continue creaming for another 1 – 2 minutes. Gradually add in the confectioners’ sugar about a half a cup at a time. Beat for about 1 minute between each addition. Once all the sugar has been added, beat until smooth.

If you’re finding that the frosting is a bit too thin, add a little more confectioners’ sugar and if you’re finding it too stiff, add a tablespoon of butter at a time until you reach the consistency you desire.

Scoop the frosting into a pastry bag. Once the cupcakes are cooled completely, its time for the frosting!

When it comes to decorating I bought fresh strawberries and blueberries to keep with the festive 4th of July, Red White and Blue theme. Cut the strawberries into quarters  and place a piece on each cupcake and place a couple of blueberries on each one too.

Happy 4th of July!

Enjoy!

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