pumpkin cupcakes
So many pumpkin cakes and loaves and muffins are heavy, playing off the dense qualities of pureed squash, and the deep, warm spices we like to eat them with. But these cupcakes — originally envisioned as a two-layer cake I believe my sister is frosting right! now! — are light. They still taste of pumpkin but not aggressively so. And the maple cream cheese frosting, my word, is so heaven sent, you can see I got a little carried away prettying it up.
The original recipe is from our friend David Leite, of the Consummate Chocolate Chip Cookie fame. But you know it is a true testament to his baking prowess to be able to make desserts that go from total decadence to this, a nicely balanced treat.
How to make roses: I worked at a bakery in high school where I picked up some party tricks — ha! Okay, maybe not party tricks but I hadn’t tried to make a rose in a dozen years and was thrilled that I still somewhat remembered. But before you ask, let me assure you that my technique is anything but worth teaching. Instead, check out this video or this one if you want to try it at home. I promise; it’s not as hard as it looks.
One year ago: Curried Lentils and Sweet Potatoes
Two years ago: Fettuccine with Porcini
Pumpkin Cupcakes With Maple–Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from David Leite
Yield: 17 to 18 cupcakes
1 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
1/2 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin
Frosting
Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
Make the cupcakes:
1. Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Line a cupcake pan with 18 liners.
2. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl.
3. Add the eggs 1 at a time to the mixer, scraping down the sides after each addition. Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the pumpkin until smooth. Scoop the batter among the cupcake liners — you’re looking to get them 3/4 full. Rap the filled pans once on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.
Make the frosting:
In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy. To assemble the cake, frost the top of one cake, place the other cake on top. Frost the sides and top, swirling decoratively. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes to set up frosting.
those are just gorgeous. i made pumpkin cookies last night for a potluck at my son’s school and have some leftover pumpkin puree….now i see its destination….
These are beautiful! I have two cans of pumpkin puree sitting in my cupboard right now, and I’ve got some maple syrup left over from your pumpkin pie I made yesterday (SUCH a hit! I didn’t like pumpkin pie before then! Thank you!!).
I can’t wait to try these out this weekend! :)
Wow, the roses are perfect! I am making two of the silky pumpkin pies tomorrow with pie crust 102. You save me every time! Thanks.
Man, you’re killing me. These look just outstanding.
I love pumpkin and can’t even imagine tiring of it. Wow – thanks for showing how to make roses!! I can’t wait to try it.
beautiful!!!
PRETTY!!!!
Those are so beautiful. I really should have a go at making something similar – I’m pretty sure I already have the necssary nozzle!
Wow, fancy!
Angie (from over at http://www.HalfAssedKitchen.com)
Espectacular!… I think it’s the most beautiful thing that I have been seen in the kitchen. Great work!
Gah! Those are gorgeous. I want to make them immediately… even though I was in the kitchen for twelve hours today and will be again tomorrow. (Who invited 14 people to our tiny apartment???) Love the roses. They are massive and gorgeous. Is there a sprinkle of something on top of some of them? It looks like maybe nutmeg? *swoon*
These sound amazing and the roses are gorgeous. As someone completely hopeless at piping I am in awe.
Hmmm delicious. Really wish you I knew where you could get cans of pumpkin here. May have to go on the hunt for some. ;-)
Deb,
what the eck is up with those pictures? For the third day now I am unable to see *any* flickr pictures. Neither my contacts nor those on blogs. *grrh*
Are you or anybody else able to help me out!?
Thanks a lot,
Valerie
I’m making your pumpkin bread pudding from last year right now! :) Honestly…I’m not sure it will make it to the Thanksgiving festivities tomorrow…I might just gobble it up tonight. :D
Holy cow.
Your roses … beautiful!
Just curious if the cupcake would be okay without the frosting? I know, I know — the frosting is the best part of decorations, but there are many who eat what I make and don’t like it too sweet.
so lovely roses!! ^_^
oh, the roses look so pretty! I’m not sure if I would bite into such lovely cupcakes. :-)
The cupcakes are beautiful. I’m not ever pumpkined out :)
love the roses, so pretty!
it’s 6am and i’m rolling out my dough for the apple pear bourbon (like I’ll pass an opportunity to spike my pie!) pie – and I am seriously contemplating making these… hmm… see how you’ve derailed me?? :) Happy Thanksgiving I hope you and Alex enjoy!
MAGNIFICENT!!!
Happy Thanksgiving, Deb!!
Can anyone tell me how to make pumpkin puree? I’m in the UK and they don’t sell canned puree.
Thanks
They look beautiful. It’s amazing you still remember how to do that without practicing for so long… I can’t even frost a cake properly, so I have a long journey if front of me to achieve such a pretty decoration!!
Oh, and thank you for all the tutorial about pie crust. I organized a Thanksgiving party with a typical american menu (first thanksgiving for many of my friends), and everyone had to bring something. Your pie shell recipe helped a lot!!!
Valerie — Either Flickr is now being blocked on your computer (work computer? accidental firewall situation?) or perhaps images. I’m not a techie, so can’t be sure about what is going on.
Liz — You can buy either a pumpkin or a butternut squash is a nice substitute, halve it, scoop out the seeds, roast it until it is soft and puree it. Measure out that puree (once it’s cold) and you’ll be all set.
These are gorgeous! I’m so impressed that you know how to make roses!
Maple cream cheese frosting….
I could just take a spoon to that and forget the cupcake.
YUMMY! I love pumpkin, so this is one more recipe to add to my collection!!
So Beautiful! But don’t tell us the roses are easy, I’ll not be fooled again! I made your pistachio petit four cake for a friend’s baby shower last weekend (that, my dear Deb, was a masterpiece and had me blushing from the compliments) and spent a good hour trying and retrying to make marzipan roses. in the end, out of frustration, I looked at the pretty pink squashy rose in my hand, growled at it and ate it. No need to waste good marzipan, eh? I ended up using real flowers, which was pretty still, but not the crafty touch I’d hoped for. You are, my dear, phenomenal. Allez allez!
Well, the roses ARE easy. What’s hard is getting them from the flower nail to the cake or cupcake without getting them messed up. And THAT’s what wasn’t shown in the videos.
Any chance you could comment on that? (Love the blog, BTW – lots of inspiration).
YummY!
Hiya Deb,
I must pass on a compliment. Thanksgiving comes a day early in Oz. So today, for a mix of Aussies and Americans I made your:
Caramelized Shallots,
Corniest Corn Muffins
Green Bean Cherry Tomato Salad
Alice Water’s Apple Tart
and your pickled cucumber salad (mixed with raw beets in lemon juice, roast pumpkin and pomegranate seeds)
and of course a Turkey and a BBQ Lamb.
The Aussies thought Thanksgiving was awesome and the Americans said it was a better feast than most of their own remembered thanksgivings. I am thankful for your blog miss Deb. Thank you for making and inspiring wonderful things time and time again.
You made our Thanksgiving bright. (:
GHarkness — I piped them right onto the cupcakes. Less “perfect” but much easier. P.S. At the bakery where I worked, the cake decorator used to use scissors to move roses. She’d cute under the rose on the nail and then open the scissor onto the cake to leave it there.
i am definitely not all pumpkin-ed out yet. these look lovely! lovely!
i agree with #27, i’d probably just squeeze the maple cream cheese frosting right into my mouth and call the naked cupcakes “muffins”…. the evil things frosting will do to me :{
i’m so jealous of your piping skills deb, absolutely gorgeous! especially with the sprinkling of nutmeg?cinnamon sugar?maple sugar?… whatever it is, it’s lovely.
Happy Thanksgiving All!
Those are beautiful! You’re my hero.
Deb, these are amazing. I love your pictures as well. Beautiful!
zesty
Hi Deb,
I made your mom’s apple cake. It’s delicious, the best apple cake I ate ever. I put your recipe on my blog, with credits to yours, I hope you don’t mind.
Regards from Lisbon – Portugal
Moira
oh yes oh yes oh yes! my book club thanks you in advance, Deb! happy, happy Thanksgiving to you & yours.
Wow! These look beautiful… you must be quite an artist! I love desserts with pumpkin and butternut squash and acorn squash in the winter…. the beautiful orange color and the baking aroma just gets me in the holiday mood.
The cupcakes are beautiful, and I’m sure they’re absolutely delicious as well!
The roses on the pumpkin cupcakes are very well done. How long did it take you to perfect the shape?
These look great! Can’t wait to try them. I ended up getting stuck with the Thanksgiving dessert this year, and decided to make a pumpkin cheescake. One trick I learned from America’s Test Kitchen is to spread the pumpkin across several layers of paper towl first. This takes out a lot of the moisture that’s in your run-of-the-mill canned pumpkin. I don’t know if it would make a difference in your recipe, but it made my cheescake incredibly light.
Wow. Multiple wows, actually. Those are just beautiful. I’m incredibly jealous of anyone who got to put one of those in his or her mouth.
stunning!
Absolutely awesome!
These are amazing. Beautiful pictures too.
Deb,
Where were you yesterday?!?!? I made the original recipe from my site–as a cake–and it was a hit. But those cupcakes are gorgeous! Wish I had had some of those on the table.
David
Ahh, you confused me for a moment with the directions for the icing. I mean, I know how to ice a cupcake, but was confused when you said to put one cake on another… and then realised it was a copy from the original recipe.
(Good to know I’m not going nuts, because I kept going back up to look at the photos and try and find the cupcake-on-top-of-cupcake.)
My mouth is watering!!!! Mine! All mine. Must make.
Deb,
Those cupcakes look awesome and your right this recipe is great! My dad made this recipe 5 years ago when it originally came out in the LA Magazine. We had the cake for Thanksgiving that year and every year since my family has made this delectable treats. This year was no exception. My brother and I use fresh sugar baby pumpkins that we had roasted and pureed the day before and we topped the iced cake with some fresh raspberries we had on hand. Once again this cake was the crowning glory to a fabulous Thanksgiving meal. I can’t wait to try your adaptation and look forward to having fun frosting those roses. Thanks for the boundless ideas and vivid pics!
You and your blog are amazing. You know that, right?
I made these tonight, with leftover pumpkin puree. The cake was absolutely fantastic–light and perfectly spiced. But I ran into a problem with the frosting. I could not for the life of me get the maple taste to come through. It was a perfectly delicious cream cheese frosting, but I upped the recipe to about 1/2 cup of maple syrup (the real deal, organic, dark amber, Vermont kind), and still, no one could taste maple. It was completely overpowered by the cream cheese. Like I said, still delicious, but I think I wouldn’t use maple syrup next time, because that stuff’s expensive! I’m wondering if maple extract might do the trick. Any thoughts? Did yours taste maple-y enough?
I made these as mini-muffins, only because I feel more indulgent if I eat three mini-muffins versus one big one… oh, egads, the irony of how a mind plays tricks.
Anyway, I was pretty darn proud of myself for actually baking a cupcake that didn’t come out like a piece of dried coral. The cupcake was perfectly moist and I loved the flavour, and if I had the hands to pat my back and congratulate me I surely would.
The frosting though? I had to modfiy it a bit because I didn’t have enough cream cheese on hand, so I used some leftover cheesecake filling that was in the fridge with butter and (three-quarters of a packet of) cream cheese, plus the maple. There was a slight maple taste, but it definitely was more cheesecake-y. Not bad at all… but I’ll have to make it again the proper way.
Anyway, thank you, Deb. I am trying to find the perfect recipe for a cutthroat work bake-off and may have stumbled on it!
I just stumbled upon your blog and I’m glad that I did — these cupcakes sound delicious. Pumpkin is my fave. I just had to link to you on my blog.
I had a craving for something pumpkin about a month ago and found a great raisin bran pumpkin recipe. I’ve modified it a bit, discarding the oil and sour cream in favor of applesauce so now I eat these babies guilt free. Well, relatively guilt free until I top them with cream cheese frosting. I even made them as mini-muffins for a potluck last week and they were a hit! Oh, the joys of seasonal recipes!
GORGEOUS!!!!
Thanks for the recipe Deb (and David)!
I just finished making these. The cake is absolutely delicious–light and fluffy and tasty. The frosting is also incredible, but I ended up with a lot left over, as I didn’t make the roses. Will the frosting keep well in the freezer?
So I made this cake into a bundt cake, but as I turned it over to cool on the rack, it broke into about 10 pieces. I was ticked off, as there were a lot of people expecting dessert the next day. My husband said, “Make it into a trilfe” I could not think of what would be good with a pumpkin cake base and he suggested Dulce de la Leche! So I broke up the cake, drizzled the sauce over it and covered it with home made butterscotch pudding. Topped with whipped cream mixed with maple syrup, it was “dulce de la licious”!!!
huh-ma-na
huh-ma-na
yuuuummmmmmm
so we tried the flowers, but the cream that we used was not stiff enough and the floweres were drooping. I cannot have cream cheese, is there anything that you can suggest as a substitute?
Yum! I guess I’m not going to have to beg my wife to make these this week! Excellent post, I’m hooked!
Seth
michelle,
If you can have egg whites, you can buy a can of powdered egg whites (Wilton makes it) and add a tablespoon or so to frosting to stiffen it up for decorating, or add more confectioner’s sugar. The powdered egg whites are available at Michael’s craft stores in the northeast US.
Deb – wow, it never occurred to me to pipe roses onto cupcakes… you are one smart cookie! Thanks for the great inspirations!
I made this in sheet cake form late last week. Oh.My.Gosh. Huge success. Not only were they probably the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth, they got devoured at the office, and the few pieces I left at my fiance’s house got FOUGHT over. I think I earned points, and it’s all thanks to you, Deb. Grazie!
I curse the buttercream rose. After I think three attempts at the Wilton Courses, I still can’t make one. I envy your skill.
Your photos are just DECADENT! Salut.
wooo. i picked up some of these at sprinkles but i could make these! on my own! although i’m not sure i could do the frosting as pretty as you did. but thank you for the recipe!
I made this as a layer cake for a friends birthday a couple of weeks ago. It is everything Deb describes it to be, light and completly heaven sent. It was a huge hit and I will absolutely make it again and again and again. Mmmm…
I’ve been obsesssed with these since you posted this recipe and finally made them. I snuck and ate one warm, and it was delicious. I tried another one this morning for breakfast, and it was heavy and dry. Admittedly, I used light brown sugar instead of dark, but could that have been all I did wrong? Anyone have any thoughts?
Hi Meg — Sorry, I am stumped. These cupcakes are very light and almost airy so it surprises me that they’d taste heavy. I wonder if there was an issue with the baking soda. Also, did you have them wrapped up overnight?
Thanks for your quick response. I think that was it — I didn’t want to cover them while warm so I left them out when I went to bed. Rookie error…
I just made these! I was out of confectioners sugar (and maple syrup), so I ground some of my vanilla sugar in my spice mill and used about a quarter cup of eggnog instead of maple syrup.
They are so good that we stayed up a bit late to have them for dessert tonight!
I made this in bundt cake form… it was very good but not fabulous. I would probably try this one again as a cupcake…. maybe I should increase the spices. Yes? Maybe? If it doesn’t improve, the pumpkin bread pudding will be my forever Thanksgiving dessert……
Deb, I discovered your blog about a week ago and now spend my days voraciously reading your archives! I absolutely love how your blog combines the three things I love most: writing, baking, and photography. You are a multi-talented woman! With that being said, this is my first comment…but far from my last. :) I am a HUGE fan of pumpkin anything and these cupcakes are just darling! And elegant at the same time! I loved the links to the videos about buttercream roses…I’m going to have to try my hand at that when I make these cupcakes!
Deb,
I just discovered your website and I’m so glad I did! Your recipes are absolutely fabulous – and this one was no exception. I just made it yesterday. Good Lord, it was outstanding. My hubby said it tasted like it came from a restaurant. As a matter of fact, he was looking around for a bakery box or something – haaaa! I LOVE to cook and bake, so it was just amazing to make something that was well worth the time. BTW, I baked it in a glass 8×8 well greased dish, and it came out wonderful. I baked it for 35 minutes at 325 degrees (I read somewhere that if you use glass, you should lower the temp by 25 degrees). It came out moist and delicious. Thanks!
Wow, that looks absolutely delicious! Great post, you did such a nice job presenting the pictures too…I am definitely going to have to try that recipe this weekend!
Hi! I just made these this morning! First of all, the photos are absolutely beautiful. I am pre-rookie stage, as far as baking goes, and it’s ALL experimental for me, as I was afraid to bake for years! So, keep that in mind. ;>)
The cupcake itself was DELICIOUS. Light as air, beautiful color, but I ran into a little problem about halfway through- the spice wasn’t quite right. The batter tasted very, very bland for some reason, so I had to basically spice to my taste, and have no idea exactly how much of what went into it. Whatever amounts were there in the end, the cupcake itself was YUMMY beyond belief. I had just enough batter to bake 24 regular sized cupcakes from this recipe.
The second ‘issue’ I ran into was that the frosting, as others mentioned, ended up not tasting very maple-y. I had no additional maple extract to try to deepen the flavor a bit, and was afraid that adding more syrup would make the frosting too thin? Even without the additional syrup, the frosting seemed a bit on the thin side. This is possibly because it was super-room-temperature, but am I understanding that to add more confectioner’s sugar (or powdered egg whites?) I would be able to stiffen the frosting a tad more when I make these again?
As an aside, and someone else mentioned this as well, but I had a TON of frosting left. So much, in fact, that I am going to have to make another batch of cupcakes tonight or tomorrow because it’s so delicious I can’t possibly throw it away!!!!
And, have no doubt- I WILL be making these all Fall long, because everyone I know who has tried one so far is clamoring for their own batch! Ultimately, I plan on perfecting my technique with these, so any tips that aren’t already mentioned here would be lovely. Thank you so much! I’m so excited to have found this blog!
what do u mean by vanilla wiht buttermilk? is that vanilla extract?
i want to only make a dozen…how do i change the measurements?
I made these cupcakes last night…they are delicious! I cut the frosting recipe in half and had the perfect amount (I didn’t make the frosting roses).
I always turn to your recipes when I have a craving for something sweet – and I’m never disappointed :).
Hi!!
I’m wondering if this recipe work with shredded pumpkin? And what is gonna happen if i add more pumpkin?? Thanx!!
Yuuummmmm! I made these to take to a going away party tomorrow. They’re so great. I, too, added some extra spice (a few grinds more of pepper, some shakes of allspice and a good bit more of pumpkin pie spice plus more nutmeg and cinnamon). The frosting is fabulous. I also ahve lots of it leftover. Oh – and a little secret – sprinkle the top with some seasalt, that will intensify the maple flavor.
So I’ve made many of your recipes into cupcakes – the peach ones, the carrot ones – but according to my coworkers, these are the best. Thanks they are lovely!
I think I used the wrong pumpkin because not only was my batter bright orange, but the taste just wasn’t that lovely spicy taste I was expecting. Beautiful rise though, I’ll have to see what went wrong. Any brand recommended?
I just want to thank you for this wonderful recipe! I just made 150 of these for my friend’s wedding. They were so light and fluffy! I had to ditch the cinnamon because of a family member’s allergy to it, but found a great balance with the spices by adding some allspice to the lineup. Also, everyone raved about the cream cheese frosting, but if you don’t like your frosting on the extreme sweet side (as I do not) then I would suggest cutting back a little bit on the powdered sugar.
I just made these for a friend’s birthday- these are hands down the best cupcakes I’ve ever made- or tasted! I was worried because the batter seemed really thick/almost frothy, but they were SO moist and flavorful. My frosting did come out a bit runny… not sure if maybe I should have beaten it a bit longer… but they were absolutely amazing.
Thanks!
Just made these and they’re amazing!! I, too, dealt with frosting a little on the runny side. They’re currently in the fridge “firming” up. Quick question – since they have cream cheese in the frosting do I need to store them overnight in the fridge? Will this dry them out?
Thanks so much!! I can already tell these are going to be a new favorite :-)
I just made this recipe as a layer cake in two 9-inch rounds and it’s the most perfect cake I’ve ever worked with. For some reason, I can never get layer cakes to work right… either it’s so moist that I have to bake the crap out of it to get the center done so the side get burnt, or the middle isn’t done enough and is pasty, or the texture is heavy and off. But I could tell even as I was making up the batter that this would be good, and the cake rose so evenly– no water-soaked aluminum strips required! I ended up splitting each layer into two so I could frost three layers in between (a good way to use extra frosting, and why are all of you complaining about EXTRA cream cheese frosting as if this is a problem?) and the layers were so easy so move; they were soft, moist, springy, yet supple. Then I frosted the whole thing, covered the sides in roasted, chopped walnuts, and dusting the top with cinnamon. So awesome. Thanks so much for this recipe! It’s a real winner.
I made these for a halloween party this weekend, and oh my goodness- they were absolutely delicious. The batter was actually quite spicy from the nutmeg, pepper, and ginger (I always lick the bowl- salmonella be damned!), but that spiciness baked out. The end result was a moist, flavor-packed cake- not too sweet but still sweet enough to give my sweet tooth a fix. The maple cream cheese frosting was also amazing, however the recipe yielded way more than necessary. It wasn’t too bad though- I was able to frost an entire cake the next day with the leftovers! Thanks so much for sharing!
Oh my. You’ve done it again. These are insane. You are always my first stop when I am looking for a recipe. And I know your recipe will be so much better than any other version.
One question though. I have been piping my frosting lately, but how do you get the tip out of the bag without making a mess when you’re done?
Wendy — I wish I knew. It’s always a huge mess. (Well, if you use a coupler, the tip can stay on the outside of the bag. But the coupler is still a greasy mess.)