Pumpkin Cupcakes with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
You guys.
It is finally fall here! It's been cold, rainy, and I haven't seen the sun in days. It's amazing.
Two weeks ago I was up in Geneseo, New York for my friends wedding and it was a great weekend. I got to see some of my best friends get married, had a real vacation, and see a part of the country I've never been to! While I spent most of my time in the Geneseo/Rochester area, I did venture over to Niagara Falls and Buffalo for a little afternoon adventure.
I've been to a lot of state parks, and I was hoping Niagara Falls would be as magnificent as I had imagined, but honestly it was a letdown. It's a really nice waterfall, but it's a tourist trap and you have to pay for almost everything. I just paid the $10 for parking and walked to each falls, no boat rides for me!
When I came back to Austin, the weather was amazing. It's been in the 40s/50s so I've had my windows open in my apartment and have been loving how cool it is. Since the weather has cooled off, my oven has been up and running pumping out some great baked goods.
I posted a question on Instagram asking my friends in the area what sort of baked goods they would like. And boy did they come through! Since my springform pan is nowhere to be found, the first treat I made are theses pumpkin cupcakes with a spiced frosting and they are SO GOOD.
I've been on the keto diet for just over a month now, but I still bake "normal" treats for people. I've really been enjoying keto - shocking - but I do take a small taste of each baked good to make sure they're good enough to go out to people. These are A+, 10/10, Gold Star, top of the podium as far as fall treats go. I have extra frosting so I'm going to find another use for that as it's too good to throw away. Might make another batch of the Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls and use this leftover frosting instead of the maple icing.
What other fall treats should I make? I'm going to start working on my Thanksgiving menu (yay!) soon so stay tuned for some savory items as well.
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
Cupcake Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
Frosting Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom
4-5 cups powdered sugar
Cupcake Instructions:
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt cinnamon, allspice, and ginger. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix the oil, eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin, and vanilla together until smooth. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients, making sure to not over mix the batter. Once there are no clumps, scoop into a prepared muffin tin and bake for 20-23 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
Frosting Instructions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter together until homogenous. In another bowl, sift together all of the spices and powdered sugar. Alternating between the powdered sugar and heavy cream, add to the stand mixer while it’s still running. Once desired consistency is reached, put into a piping bag, and frost cupcakes.
Frosted cupcakes can stay good for 3 days as long as they’re refrigerated. Let warm up slightly before eating.