Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

To continue with my Halloween mood, I thought it was a perfect night to bake a Fall-infused treat (plus, co-workers have been begging me to bring them in…I won’t mention any names).

This recipe results in pretty tasty Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting. It doesn’t get more Fall than that.

I’m sure you have heard of vanilla cream cheese frosting. But have you ever tried maple cream cheese frosting? If you haven’t, you should definitely try it sooner rather than later. It’s the right amount of sweetness and it adds an additional hint of the Fall season in every bite.

Cupcake Decorator Warning: This frosting, because of the maple syrup, is not easy to…well, how should I say it…decorate in an attractive fashion. It’s very gooey and fluffy in a glaze kind of a way. My best suggestion would be to drizzle some of the frosting over the top of the cupcake and do circular motions to spread it evenly. I like to stick with a circle of frosting on top of each cupcake and then I add Halloween sprinkles to spruce them up a bit.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
2. Beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, approximately five minutes.
3. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
4. Add the eggs (one at a time) into the mixer. Next, alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures. Beat in the pumpkin until smooth.
5. Spoon the batter into the cupcake tray (filling about 3/4 of the way). Tap the filled pans once on the counter to release air bubbles.
6. Bake the cakes for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Cool the pans on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Remove the cupcakes and cool completely.

Ingredients:

• 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients until fluffy.
2. Frost the top of the cupcakes, swirly decoratively.
3. Garnish with Halloween sprinkles and refrigerate for 30 minutes to set the frosting.

Bon appetit!