Pumpkin Cupcakes!

Happy Monday everyone! I was going to make a really stupid joke a la the "Hump Day" camel commercial (Pump Day! Get it? Pumpkin? Pump? See, this is why I left it alone...) but I will spare looooooove me some pumpkin desserts! So in honor of that love affair, here are a few pumpkin cupcake ideas (and bonus! One is gluten free!)

you. Instead let's just get right into it. I made mini pumpkin cupcakes with maple mascarpone frosting this weekend to say thank you to some very generous people who gave me and my husband baby gifts for our impending little dinosaur. I held out as long as I could before I jumped on the pumpkin wagon..but I just

Seasonally appropriate...
Mini Halloween Pumpkin Cupcakes
Bon Appetit, October 2009

Ingredients

• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Chopped crystallized ginger (optional)
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• Orange and black food coloring; orange, black, white, and yellow candies and sugar crystals

• Special Equipment: Mini muffin pans 13/4x1-inch paper liners

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 mini muffin cups with 1 3/4x 1-inch paper liners. Mix flour, golden brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice in large bowl. Whisk egg, canned pure pumpkin, vegetable oil, sour cream, and vanilla extract in medium bowl. Add mixture to dry ingredients; stir to fully combine. Spoon batter into paper liners (batter will almost fill liners). Scatter crystallized ginger over, if desired. Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 16 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely on rack. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl to blend. Beat in powdered sugar.
2. Divide frosting among 3 bowls. Tint frosting in first bowl with orange coloring (or combine red and yellow coloring to make orange) and frosting in second bowl with black coloring, keeping frosting in third bowl white. Chill frosting 2 hours or until firm enough to easily spread. Frost cupcakes; decorate using candy and sugar crystals as desired.

Gluten free for you and me!

Gluten-Free Pumpkin-Ginger Cupcakes

Mani Niall

Ingredients

• 6 ounces mascarpone, at room temperature
• 6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup white rice flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups pure pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
• 1/4 cup chopped or sliced crystallized ginger, for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. MAKE THE FROSTING: In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the mascarpone and cream cheese until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. Cover and refrigerate the frosting until it is firm enough to spread, about 1 hour.
2. MEANWHILE, MAKE THE CUPCAKES: Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 16 muffin cups with paper liners. In a large bowl, whisk the rice flour with the tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. In a medium bowl, whisk the brown sugar with the granulated sugar, vegetable oil and eggs. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth; whisk in the pumpkin puree.
3. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the cupcakes spring back when gently pressed. Transfer the cupcakes to a rack and let cool completely.
4. MAKE THE CARAMEL: In a medium saucepan, spread the sugar evenly and cook over moderately low heat, shaking the pan to keep the sugar in an even layer. Cook, swirling the saucepan occasionally, until the sugar is melted and a deep-amber caramel forms. Slowly add the cream (be careful, the caramel will boil vigorously) and cook, whisking, until smooth. Transfer the caramel to a heatproof bowl and stir in the salt. Let cool to room temperature.
5. Frost the cupcakes and drizzle with the caramel sauce. Garnish with the crystallized ginger and serve.

MAKE AHEAD: The unfrosted cupcakes can be stored overnight in an airtight container at room temperature. The caramel can be refrigerated for up to 1 week; rewarm before using.

Yes, it's a cake...but bake them in cupcake molds! Start 10 min, turn and flip pans, then another 8-10 min and check.

Spiced Pumpkin Cake with Caramel Icing

Bon Appetit, December 2002

Ingredients

Cake:

• 3 cups sifted cake flour (sifted, then measured)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel icing and fruit and walnut filling:

• 1/2 cup dark rum
• 6 tablespoons raisins
• 6 tablespoons dried sweetened cranberries
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 6 ounces cream cheese, cut into small pieces, room temperature
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted, chopped
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• Thin orange peel strips
• Vanilla ice cream

Directions

For cake:

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Sift first 8 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and oil in large bowl until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin and vanilla; beat until blended. Gradually add dry ingredients; beat just until incorporated. Divide batter between prepared pans; smooth top with spatula.
2. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool completely in pans on racks. Run small knife around cakes to loosen. Turn cakes out onto racks.

For icing and filling:

1. Stir rum, raisins, and dried cranberries in small saucepan over low heat just until warm, about 1 minute. Remove from heat; let stand 30 minutes. Drain, reserving rum and fruit separately.
2. Whisk whipping cream and cream cheese in small bowl until smooth. Combine sugar and 2/3 cup water in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high; boil without stirring until syrup is deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with pastry brush dipped in water and swirling pan, about 10 minutes. Slowly and carefully whisk in cream cheese mixture (caramel mixture will bubble vigorously). Add butter; whisk until mixture is smooth, about 1 minute. Remove from heat; cool caramel icing 10 minutes, whisking occasionally.
3. Pour 3/4 cup warm caramel icing mixture into bowl. Mix in half of reserved dried fruit mixture, 1 cup walnuts, and grated orange peel. Place 1 cake layer on 8-inch-diameter tart pan bottom or cardboard round. Brush top of cake with half of reserved rum. Spread caramel-nut filling over, leaving 1/2-inch plain border at edges. Top with second cake layer, flat side down; press to adhere. Brush top of cake with remaining rum; let stand 10 minutes to allow rum to soak in.
4. Pour generous 1/2 cup warm caramel icing onto cake and, if necessary, spread over top with offset spatula to cover. Refrigerate cake and remaining caramel icing until icing is firm enough to spread and to adhere to sides of cake, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.
5. Transfer 3/4 cup chilled icing to small bowl and chill for sauce. Using offset spatula, spread remaining 1 cup icing evenly over sides of cake to cover. Mix remaining dried fruit mixture and remaining 1/2 cup walnuts in another small bowl. Sprinkle mixture in 1 1/2-inch-wide border around top edge of cake. Cover cake with cake dome and chill at least 6 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep cake and caramel icing for sauce chilled separately.)
6. Place cake on platter. Garnish with orange peel. Rewarm icing over low heat just until pourable. Serve cake cold with ice cream and warm caramel sauce.

Happy baking!