It’s finally starting to feel like autumn. There’s a cool breeze, no humidity (thank you! thank you! thank you!) and the leaves are starting to become more intense in their color. Thanks to a storm on Monday night the walkway is covered with fallen leaves so when I walk to the street, there’s the comforting sound of rustling leaves.
Awe. Fall.
I had the urge to bake the other day and I wanted to make cupcakes. But I didn’t want to make the usual. I wanted something different. When I was in the grocery store I saw boxes of Pumpkin Spice cake mix and I thought “that’s it! I’ll make Pumpkin Spice cupcakes and the perfect frosting would be cream cheese”. I bypassed the boxes of mix because I’d make my own when I got home after putting the groceries away. And I did!
Biting into these cupcakes was like taking a bite out of autumn. Everything I love about the season was packed into this tiny little package of yumminess. The spices swirled with the pumpkin and the flavor burst in my mouth as the cream cheese frosting added a creamy richness. In a nutshell, these cupcakes were sweet, simple and very seasonal.
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/3 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tbsp. molasses
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- Cream Cheese frosting:
- 4 oz. cream cheese, at room temp
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temp
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350F and line 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners.
- In medium bowl, whisk flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In another bowl combine pumpkin, molasses and vanilla.
- In a large bowl beat sugar and butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and beat in eggs, one at a time. Then, alternating, add flour and pumpkin mixtures, beating until just combined.
- Divide batter among muffin-pan cups and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Transfer to wire rack for 5 minutes to cool, then remove cupcakes from pan to completely cool.
- Frost with Cream Cheese frosting.
- Cream Cheese frosting:
- Combine cream cheese and butter in bowl and beat until light and fluffy with electric mixture. Add in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla, combine until light and fluffy.
