10.18.2010

foodstuff: pumpkin cupcakes + maple cream cheese frosting

in trader joe's last week, i happened upon the last can of organic pumpkin.

it was sitting all by itself on the shelf.

i'm not completely certain, but i think it may have winked at me.

of course it had to come to my house.

since i have not baked with pumpkin for some time, i turned to the food blogosphere for inspiration.

while traipsing through pumpkin mania in the online world of fall, i found smitten kitchen's pumpkin cupcakes with maple buttercream frosting.

oh yes.

not only do i adore pumpkin, but maple anything makes me swoon.

so i spent a rainy sunday whipping up a batch of fall spiced cupcakes topped with a sweet buttery frosting...


{silicone liners + favorite apron}


{a rainbow of liners}


{fresh from the oven = knockout fall fragrance}


{sprinkled with nutmeg}

a few baking notes...

  • confession: this was my first use of cake flour. what took me so long?! it's dreamy. those cakes were crazy soft.
  • i used golden instead of dark brown sugar. no problem.
  • instead of using individual spices, i multitasked and threw in two teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. it had all of the spice goodness that was called for plus a dash of cardamom. yum.
  • the frosting did not ultimately taste super maple-y and if when i make it again i will fix this issue.
  • i think this might be the best cupcake i have made in my baking life.
  • smitten kitchen recipes consistently rock.

in conclusion, these cupcakes are awesome.

if you need a new fall sweet treat recipe, this is it.

and i would be most delighted to hear about any pumpkin goodness that is emerging from your kitchen this fall...

10 comments:

jackiebean said...

those look wonderful!

i saw a similar recipe in house beautiful from ina garten. love her. i think i may take the same idea and do a pumpkin cake instead of pumpkin pie for thanksgiving. this thanksgiving will be my very first away from home, and i'm cooking everything myself!

in other pumpkin related news, i had some fabulous pumpkin frozen yogurt this weekend! with heath bar topping. yum!

cb said...

oh my those look amazing! i love trader joes...the mister works there as a sign artist...he is so lucky, i would love to do his job!!

xo,
cb

Anonymous said...

These look delish and your cupcake liners are so cute! Thanks for sharing the recipe and the tips.

MeeshOne.Love said...

yes please! these look amazing!

Skooks said...

I WISH Trader Joe's would come to my town. (sigh)

Anyway, what would you change about the frosting because I'm TOTALLY going to make these. Like RIGHT NOW.

My husband's b-day was at the beginning of this month and my 3 year old and I made him a homemade pumpkin cheesecake. SO ridiculously good. We just used the instructions on the graham cracker crust package . . . so perfect. And probably like a billion calories a slice. :P

Rebecca said...

Triple yum! I made the famous Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Icing this weekend. Ben is hoping I make them again with chocolate chips. I don't think we'll go wrong with that addition. ;)

diane said...

jackiebean...wow! your first time cooking everything yourself for thanksgiving! i have never done that. i am so excited for you and would love to hear about it!

cb...just yesterday (seriously!) i saw an ad on craigslist for a tj's sign artist in the north bay. i thought it sounded like SUCH a cool job.

mim...thank you! those liners were a gift and they work so well.

meesh...come on down, friend! tea and cuppycakes.

skooks...i would either reduce the syrup to concentrate it or add maple extract. both would be a wild experiment since i have never used either method! :P

diane said...

bean...your pumpkin bars send me to the mooooooon!

and i like the way b. love thinks.

shall we start discussing our holiday baking plans?

i am reminiscing about our gingerbread house which was partially constructed while wearing headlamps.

pigwidget said...

Those silicone cupcake liners are great! Punkie L got a box of pirate themed paper ones which are so cute I haven't the heart to use them yet :( Silicone versions would be so much better - do you know who made yours?

Mary said...

YUM. That cupcake looks absolutely delicious. You know I share your love for all things maple. This, I will have to try!