Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Last month, I discovered Pinterest.  It is a fantastic diversion.  I love to browse all of the recipes, craft ideas, apartment decorating, colors, adorableness...  The emphasis on the visual makes my eyes happy.  Incidentally, you can follow me here.

Lately, there has been an impressive array of October-related pins on Pinterest.  Autumn is my favorite season, and I grew up in a household that celebrated Halloween with as much gusto as Christmas, so I am very enthusiastic about October, with its pumpkins, cats, owls, and witches.  Pumpkin, in particular, brings me much joy.  So, when I ran across a pin for pumpkin spice cupcakes, I knew it had to happen.

The biggest challenge about this recipe?  Finding canned pumpkin!  Apparently, there is some sort of pumpkin crisis afoot.  I scoured Safeway for a good twenty minutes before asking a manager, who told me that Safeway has been out of canned pumpkin for two months because it is stockpiling it for Thanksgiving.  I had a hard time keeping a straight face as he told me this with an acute sense of conspiratorial urgency.  Leaving Safeway, I thought to myself, there is no way that Trader Joe's has a corporate contingency plan that involves the stockpiling of canned pumpkin in the event of a crisis.  Sure, enough, I was able to find plenty of organic pumpkin at Trader Joe's.  Panic setting in at the thought of TJ's stock running low, I found myself compulsively buying three cans.

The other reason I wanted to make cupcakes was to use my lovely Halloween cupcakes wrappers with owls and ravens, which I found at Michael's:

The recipe is simple enough.  After extensive research, I chose my favorite recipes from two different blogs for the cupcakes and the frosting, and they paired quite nicely.


Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes


Cupcakes
adapted from Annie's Eats


Ingredients:

• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs

Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Line cupcake pans with paper wrappers.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.  Set aside.  (Note: Lacking a sifter, I whisked instead, which seemed to work just fine.)

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar and oil.


3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.


4. With the mixture on low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing just until incorporated.

5. Fill the cupcake liners about three-quarters full. (Note: Although this recipe claims to make 24-30 cupcakes, I only ended up with 21.  I think I could have filled up the liners a bit less.)

6. Bake until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. (Note: It was closer to 24 minutes for me, probably due to my larger cupcakes.)

7. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the pans and let cool completely.


Okay, that was fun; now, let's make some frosting!


Brown Sugar Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from Cupcakes Take the Cake


Ingredients:

• 8 oz fat free cream cheese - room temperature
• 1 stick unsalted butter - room temperature
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4-6 cups powdered sugar (Note: I used five cups, but definitely could have done six.)

Directions:


1. In an electric mixer, cream butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.


2. Beat in brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon until fully incorporated.


3. Gradually add powdered sugar in small portions, scraping down the sides with each addition, until desired consistency is reached.

Now, I realize that I'm a couple years late on the cupcake trend, but the honest truth is that I've never used a real piping tool to frost cupcakes.  Granted, a cream cheese frosting isn't really the right consistently for fancy pants piping--one day, I will do something fun with butter cream--but, I at least wanted to give the frosting a neat texture instead of spreading it on with a knife.  So, I went for it!

I didn't want to buy real piping bags, so I modified a gallon-sized resealable bag.  I started by cutting a very small hole in the corner, and then trimmed it bigger until it fit my frosting tip.

Next, I spooned the frosting into the bag.  My mom helpfully suggested flipping the edges of the bag inside out so that the bag would hold itself open.

Then, I squished out excess air, sealed the bag, and pushed all of the frosting toward the tip.  Success!

I used a basic swirling motion from the outside edge of the cupcake to the center.  I may have put on a bit too much frosting (if there is such a thing), because some of the frosting oozed off the edge of a few of the cupcakes.

There was a sizable amount of frosting left over when I was done.  And a bunch of cupcakes!

The best thing about living at home is that I have so many people with whom to share my baking.  These cupcakes definitely went quickly at my house!  They're perfect with a hot mug of vanilla chai tea.

What should I do with my other cans of pumpkin?