Sweet Treats Saturday: Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

'If I'm going to do it, I need to do it this week,' was my thought for the Sweet Treats post for this weekend.  I don't bake with pumpkin often, as I tend to veer away from a strong pumpkin flavor.  I am always hesitant to try recipes with pumpkin, as I don't want to go 'overkill' on the taste.

I love pumpkin ravioli's and other various fall squashes, and with the recent weather changes I wanted to enjoy the change in seasons.  I decided to make this recipe based on the pumpkin/cinnamon combination and to finally give in to the spirit of Autumn.

The hubby declared these 'light and fluffy, with a good amount of pumpkin flavor!'  He then wanted to know if this counted towards his daily intake of fruits and veggies.  When I told him, no, there's not enough pumpkin for that to count, he said 'then I should just eat more until it does!'  Sigh.

The original recipe was for a pumpkin cake. Eat Cake for Dinner did a combination of cake and cupcakes, while I just went straight for cupcakes.  If you would like to see the cake recipe, just click on the link below.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream
Recipe adapted from Eat Cake for Dinner/Paula Deen

Makes approx. 2 dozen

Cupcake Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 (15oz) can pumpkin
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Fill two cupcake pans with liners; set aside.  In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars at medium speed with a mixer, until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in pumpkin.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.  Gradually add to butter mixture alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating until just combined after each addition.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.  Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on wire racks before adding frosting.

Cinnamon Buttercream Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
5 cups powdered sugar
1/4 - 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

In a large bowl, beat butter, cinnamon, and salt at a medium speed with a mixer until creamy.  Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.  Add cream and beat until frosting reaches desired consistency.

 

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