What's Baking: Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple-Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting

What do you do when you have about a half-cup of pumpkin puree left over after making a batch of pumpkin pancakes? You make a dozen pumpkin spice cupcakes, of course! Or at least, that's what I do.

A friend of mine hosted a clothing swap on Sunday, and of course, trying on clothes requires a variety of snacks and plenty of wine. I decided freshly-baked cupcakes were in order, especially since I didn't have too many clothes to add to the pile because I had done a major closet cleanse a couple of months ago and donated all of my castoffs to Goodwill.

Somehow I managed to come home with more clothes than I came with. . .and we still managed to fill up several huge bags of clothing to donate to a local charity. And the cupcakes were a hit, although they had plenty of competition from treats others had brought including a freshly-baked pie, a pumpkin-chocolate chip bundt cake (yum), and savory snacks as well.

While this recipe calls for a relatively small amount of pumpkin puree, the cupcakes still pack quite a pumpkin-y punch, which is complemented by the requisite pumpkin pie spices including cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg.

And the frosting! I mustn't forget to mention the frosting. A classic cream cheese frosting gets an added oomph of flavor with the addition of pure maple syrup (always use the real stuff – you'll never go back) and bourbon. I literally had to restrain myself from licking the mixing bowl clean. Too much information? I apologize. But, really, it is that good.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple-Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting
(printer-friendly version)
makes 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs

For the frosting:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

2 teaspoons bourbon

chopped pecans, for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup cupcake tin with paper liners and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
3. Use an electric mixer with the beater attached to cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the pumpkin puree and vanilla and stir to combine. Then beat in each egg, one at a time.  Turn the mixer to low and stir in the flour mixture in several batches. Continue stirring until fully incorporated.
4. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 cupcake cups. Bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
5. While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting. Add the softened butter and cream cheese to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until well-combined and light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the sifted powdered sugar. Then add the vanilla, maple syrup, and bourbon and beat until thoroughly combined. If the frosting seems too soft, refrigerate for 15 minutes before using. Frost the cupcakes and garnish with chopped pecans. 

(lightly adapted from this Down Home with the Neelys recipe)

What's Baking: Coconut Cupcakes

I could totally use a cupcake break right around now. Alas, I brought the latest batch to a get-together over the weekend, and they were all gobbled down. (The 3-year-olds in the crowd were particular fans.) I guess that's a sign that they were good cupcakes, eh?

This past weekend marks the second time I've made these coconut cupcakes for a get-together. I've now made them in both the standard size (pictured here) and as minis, and both versions were well-received. You can't go wrong with a cupcake, really, particularly when it has a giant mount of frosting on top. 

These cupcakes get their coconut flavor from a variety of sources including shredded coconut and coconut milk in the batter and toasted coconut chips added as a final garnish. The frosting is your standard vanilla buttercream; if you're feeling particularly decadent, add in a quarter teaspoon of vanilla beans for a little extra vanilla flavor.

Coconut Cupcakes (printer-friendly version)
makes 12 standard cupcakes or 24 mini cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut (unsweetened is okay)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 egg white, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk, well shaken or stirred ("lite" is okay)

For the frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup coconut chips, toasted

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and shredded coconut.
3. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer. Cream on medium-high heat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg, egg white, and vanilla extract.
4. At low speed, add in the dry ingredients in batches, alternating with the coconut milk, and finishing with the addition of the last of the flour mixture. Stir until just combined.
5. Use a small scoop to divide the batter evenly among the lined cups. Bake in the oven for 18-20 (or 15 minutes for mini cupcakes), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
6. Carefully remove the cupcakes from the tin and set on a wire rack to cool completely.
7. While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting. Add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the sifted powdered sugar in 1/4-cup increments, beating to combine at medium speed, then beating at high speed for 10 seconds to aerate the frosting. Add in the vanilla extract and beat to combine.
8. Use an offset spatula to frost the cupcakes. Top with toasted coconut chips. Any leftover cupcakes can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to three days. But they probably won't last that long!

(adapted from these recipes from Brown Eyed Baker and Martha Stewart)

What's Baking: Tiramisu-Inspired Cupcakes

After making a delish (if I do say so myself) tiramisu a couple weeks ago, I have since become obsessed with tiramisu-inspired desserts. In preparation of attempting a tiramisu cake for D's birthday next week, I thought I'd start small with cupcakes. We will call this cupcake attempt #1. Though not bad per se, the cupcake turned out a bit denser than I would have liked. The frosting, however, is TO DIE FOR. And I think it'd be even better with a little brandy, which I left out since I brought these along last night to a Boy Scout shindig. Of course, I may have forgotten that there would be LDS troops in attendance as well, so let's just ignore the coffee-soaking part, shall we?

For my cupcakes, I melded together a few different recipes. And, for full disclosure, these cupcakes should actually technically be called attempt #2, given that attempt #1 was a bit of a runny mess. I have to say that making baked goods is definitely a bit of a challenge at 7200'. The first recipe I followed was for flatlanders, and my attempt at making it suitable for my elevation by reducing the baking powder did not help one iota. So, for my second attempt, I followed a recipe for brown-sugar vanilla cupcakes, found at Cheeky Kitchen. Note that the recipe is intended for those living at high elevations (the writer lives in Colorado Springs). After the cupcakes came out of the oven, I used this recipe to make an espresso syrup (omitting the liquor). When the cupcakes had cooled sufficiently, I used a turkey baster with a flavor injector to inject about a tablespoon or so of the syrup into the center of each cupcake. Feeling that might be inadequate, I also used a pastry brush to sweep the top of each cupcake a couple of times with the syrup as well. I returned to the Smitten Kitchen tiramisu cake recipe for the frosting (again, sigh, omitting the liquor). I used a pastry bag with an icing tip to swirl on the frosting, and then finished each cupcake with a dusting of cocoa powder and a Ghiradelli chocolate chip garnish.

Since I have a bit of frosting left over, I think I am going to give these cupcakes another whirl this weekend and see if I can figure out a lighter cupcake recipe to try. I think it might also be a great idea to squirt a bunch of the icing into the center of the cupcake as well. Let the experiments begin!