Pumpkin cupcakes! I know that to my English readers this may seem a little odd as we don't tend to use pumpkin in sweet dishes very often, but to make them easier to imagine, they taste a lot like carrot cake. Moist and deliciously spiced with ginger and cinnamon and more, the cream cheese frosting is to die for and the added splash of bourbon seems to intensify the sweet spicing to perfection.
It's a real shame that pumpkin isn't readily available in the UK other than at Halloween, as these really are one of my favourite cupcakes of all time. Oh well, I shall make do with carrot until I run away to the US to live in my Victorian porched wooden house in the South... one day, I hope...
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from a recipe by the genius that is Martha Stewart
Makes 12 standard American sized cupcakes
Cupcake Ingredients
125g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda / baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of ground allspice
pinch of ground clove
125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
110g light brown sugar
50g dark brown sugar
50g caster sugar
2 eggs
220g pumpkin puree
Frosting Ingredients
125g full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
25g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp bourbon whiskey
1 tsp vanilla extract
300-400g icing sugar
Cupcakes Method
Preheat oven to 180 C / 360 F. Line a muffin pan with 12 cupcake cases.
Sift the flour, baking powder and soda and all the spices into a large bowl and stir until evenly combined and then set aside - you don't want any pockets/lumps of spices in the batter.
Beat together the butter and three sugars until fluffy and then mix in the eggs until just combined. Add half the flour mixture and beat again gently, then add the pumpkin puree. Mix until thoroughly combined and then beat in the second half of the flour and spices.
Divide the batter between the cupcake cases and bake in the preheeated oven for between 20-25 minutes. They are ready when they have changed to a dark amber colour and spring back to the touch.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the tray before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting Method
Gently beat together the cream cheese and the butter with the vanilla extract and bourbon until well combined. Now mix in the icing sugar a little at a time until you reach the right consistency - if you run a fork through it the indentations should stay - you may not need all the sugar.
Pipe or spread the frosting onto your cooled cupcakes and decorate any way you wish - I love the tiny chocolate pumpkins I found at my local supermarket!
It's a real shame that pumpkin isn't readily available in the UK other than at Halloween, as these really are one of my favourite cupcakes of all time. Oh well, I shall make do with carrot until I run away to the US to live in my Victorian porched wooden house in the South... one day, I hope...
Adapted from a recipe by the genius that is Martha Stewart
Makes 12 standard American sized cupcakes
Cupcake Ingredients
125g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda / baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of ground allspice
pinch of ground clove
125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
110g light brown sugar
50g dark brown sugar
50g caster sugar
2 eggs
220g pumpkin puree
Frosting Ingredients
125g full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
25g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp bourbon whiskey
1 tsp vanilla extract
300-400g icing sugar
Cupcakes Method
Preheat oven to 180 C / 360 F. Line a muffin pan with 12 cupcake cases.
Sift the flour, baking powder and soda and all the spices into a large bowl and stir until evenly combined and then set aside - you don't want any pockets/lumps of spices in the batter.
Beat together the butter and three sugars until fluffy and then mix in the eggs until just combined. Add half the flour mixture and beat again gently, then add the pumpkin puree. Mix until thoroughly combined and then beat in the second half of the flour and spices.
Divide the batter between the cupcake cases and bake in the preheeated oven for between 20-25 minutes. They are ready when they have changed to a dark amber colour and spring back to the touch.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the tray before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting Method
Gently beat together the cream cheese and the butter with the vanilla extract and bourbon until well combined. Now mix in the icing sugar a little at a time until you reach the right consistency - if you run a fork through it the indentations should stay - you may not need all the sugar.
Pipe or spread the frosting onto your cooled cupcakes and decorate any way you wish - I love the tiny chocolate pumpkins I found at my local supermarket!
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