Saturday, October 9, 2010

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple frosting... need I say more!


Okay, recently I was reading an article on how to get more followers to your blog. It had some good points, like always try to use proper spelling, try not to offend your readers, and make your post interesting. Of course those are all things that I try to do (unfortunately, proper spelling and English are not always easy for a science major). Then it said to try to only stick to one consistent topic. It is not a good thing to jump all around from one topic to another topic.

I guess I agree. Unfortantly I can not do this. I would admit that I mostly talk about motherhood and my micro preemie. I will try not to talk about icebergs and then gross motor development. But, the reality is that I am diverse. My daughter and motherhood does dominate my life, but I do have other interest. And thus, I have to make a post about the amazing cup cakes I made this week:

Pumpkin Cupcakes with maple frosting

1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 extra large eggs (room temperature)
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (8 ounces)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup vegatable oil

Maple frosting recipes follows
2- 1.4 ounce bars Heath bars chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 10 to 12 muffin liners.

Medium bowl sift together flour, baking soda and powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vegetable oil. Add the four mixture and stir until combined.

Divide the batter among the muffin liners and bake for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Spread with maple frosting and sprinkle with chopped toffee bits.

Maple frosting:

6 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon Maple flavor (real is great, if you are cheap like me... imitation flavor)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioners sugar

Cream the cream cheese and butter on low speed, stir in maple flavoring and vanilla then slowly ad the confectioners sugar and mix until smooth.

There is something so wonderful about a cupcake. A perfect little cake, made just for one. I also love to bake because you put ingredients just right in a bowl, and then you have perfection in an hour later. A lot of baking you can do in parts so that if you are busy you can finish them later, such as baking the cup cakes and then do the frosting the next day.

These were beautiful cupcakes but, unfortunately we ate them too fast for photographs. Enjoy Autumn!

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