Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes by DK on Nov 11, 2009

I thought I made lots of pumpkin puree and was wondering how I was going to finish all of it! I need not have worried. With the last of my puree, I made these utterly delicious spiced Pumpkin cupcakes. These cupcakes have gone places - from David Leite to Smitten kitchen to Honey and Jam. With such a fan following, I knew I had to make it.

Yes, I had to add my own touch to it. There was really nothing much one can do to perfection now, can they? But I made v small changes - reduced the fat in the cupcakes by way of replacing some of the butter with pumpkin puree and by using only egg whites instead of whole ones to avoid that cholesterol. Lets keep all that to the frosting now shall we ;)? I also made lemon cream cheese frosting. You can see the originals and the transformation in the previous links.

Cook time: Under 30 min
Prep time: Under 30 min
Yields: Makes 17-18 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes
1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing pans
1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs whites, lightly whisked (see Egg substitutes)
1/2 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups homemade pumpkin puree
For the Lemon Cream cheese frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
zest of one lemon
juice of 1/4 lemon

Tips

If you want to Bake using Microwave pls refer to these articles 1) How to Bake in Microwave 2) How to Bake in Microwave Convection Oven For making Substitutions please refer my handy chart 1) Baking substitutions 2)Egg Substitutions

Method

Method - For the cupcakes

Preheat Oven 350F (175 C). In a bowl, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper in another bowl.

3. Add the egg whites to the butter and sugar mixture and stir to combine.

4. Now alternate adding the flour and buttermilk mixtures,

5. beginning and ending with the flour.

6. Add the pumpkin puree.

7. Stir until smooth.

8. Scoop the batter among the cupcake liners — about 3/4 full.

9. Rap the filled pans once on the counter to release any air bubbles.

10. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.

11.

For the Frosting

Cream the cheese, zest and butter together in a bowl.

12. Slowly add the sugar and continue beating until lump free and smooth. Add vanilla and lemon juice.

Assembly Simply pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes - less or more, your choice. If you don't want to pipe, you can simply use a butter knife or dinner knife to spread the filling on top!! I also sprinkled some demerara sugar on top for a slight crunch.

The inside of the cupcake is spongy and v fluffy. For all that frosting, it still is very light and the slight burst of lemon flavors in the frosting goes very well with these cupcakes.

Filed Under these categories

Recipe Reference

adapted from honey and jam.

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14 Comments

By Esther on Feb 20, 2017

I am very thankful for the step-by-step tutorial. It really helps a beginner like me. I cannot find pumpkin puree easily in Japan so I thought of trying your recipe for home-made pumpkin puree but the page does not display. Thank you!

Thank you Esther for bringing the broken link to my notice. Just fixed it. Pls refer: http://chefinyou.com/articles/pumpkin-puree-recipe/ --DK

By Jay on Nov 30, 2010

Dhivya, I made the carrot cupcakes and this cream cheese frosting. I wanted to do the piping swirls (like on you carror cupcakes). I made the frosting as mentioned here but I had trouble piping it nicely....the frosting was rather flowing through the decorating tip. Any idea why and whether any quick fix can be made?

adding more powdered sugar to the mix would help to thicken it

By Smitha on Oct 28, 2010

that looks absolutely gorgeous!!...lemon creme cheese frosting is yum...perfect fall recipe,..thanx Dhivya! and soft and moist!

By Geeta on Aug 5, 2010

Hi H, I don't eat eggs, I would love to know how much more buttermilk and pumpkin puree did you add? Thank you.

1 egg with be 1/4 cups. 2 egg whites make 1 egg. So use 1/4 cup equivalent of one egg with puree or buttermilk.

By H on Jun 27, 2010

I made 2 batches of this muffin yesterday...first batch was over in minutes (thanks to friends), I had to make another batch so that I could enjoy these yummy muffins. I left out the eggs completely but increased the quantity of buttermilk and pumpking puree. They came out really soft. Thanks for the lovely recipe :)

By Medha on May 23, 2010

Can u please explain me,What is Cream Cheese?

pls refer here http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-cream-cheese.htm --DK

By Allison on Nov 30, 2009

Thanks, I needed to get rid of some egg whites and pumpkin puree. Great recipe. They're good without the frosting too if you want to save a few calories.

By jan on Nov 17, 2009

You forgot to print oven heat????

Oops, sorry about that. Its 350F (175 C) - thanks a bunch for pointing it out to me Jan :) -- DK

By deepti on Nov 15, 2009

mouthwatering cupcake....I'll also give a try as I need to finish some pumpkins as well...Thanks 4 the recipe

By CurryLeaf on Nov 12, 2009

Looks great DK.I love pumpin pie spice even in my cocoa thgh I must say I add cinamon a bit more as its my favourite.The frosted ones are great.Can't take my eyes off the pic.

By Iti on Nov 12, 2009

fabulous recipes i must try this one also.....thanks to u .... :)

By Chakh...le...Re!!! on Nov 11, 2009

yummy and gorgeous cupcakes.

By Priya on Nov 11, 2009

Lip smacking spiced cupcakes, looks gorgeous...I tried out quick bread with butternut squash puree for the first time, they really turned out superb...

By Pavani on Nov 11, 2009

First thought that came to my mind when I saw pumpkin cupcakes- How much pumpkin puree did this girl really make?? :roll: But good for us, we get the recipes for so many yummy dishes. Cupcakes look mouth watering and cream cheese frosting is one of my favorite.