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Breads Dessert Pumpkin Uncategorized

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

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Pumpkin Spice Cupcake
Pumpkin Spice Cupcake (photo by Shimelle Laine)

Fall is my favorite time of year and these cupcakes are just what I need to get in the mood. The shadows are lengthening and out here in San Francisco, the air is more humid than usual and it’s warmer. When I lived on the East Coast, the arrival of Fall was all about feeling a cold nip in the air. Here in San Francisco where the summers are freezing, it’s quite the opposite. The weather heats up as the leaves are turning brown.

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Perfect for a Halloween Party
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 24
Ingredients
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed firmly
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • pinch of salt
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1½ cups pure pumpkin puree
  • For the frosting:
  • 1 package cream cheese
  • 1½ sticks (12 Tbsp) unsalted butter
  • ⅔ cup light brown sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tsp cinnamon, plus extra for garnish
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line cupcake tray (24) with paper liners.
  2. In a standing mixer, cream the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on high speed until fluffy.
  3. Add eggs and vanilla and mix at a medium speed until well blended.
  4. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to wet, alternating with the milk, until all are incorporated. Add pumpkin puree and mix well.
  5. Fill cupcakes two-thirds full and bake for 18 – 22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  6. Remove from oven and let stand for a couple of minutes. Then remove from muffin tin and let cool completely.
  7. To make the frosting:
  8. Let the cream cheese and butter soften before creaming them together on high speed with a mixer. Cream in the sugar, vanilla and cinnamon until smooth and light. Chill in the fridge overnight (or at least for a few hours) to let it set.
  9. Spread on cupcakes and garnish with a pinch of cinnamon.

 

Categories
Breads Breakfast/Brunch Dessert Pumpkin Uncategorized

The Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

There’s nothing likely whipping up a little quick bread (muffin, cupcake, bread, whatever) to satisfy the baking need. Mix the wet ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients. Put them together without overmixing, bake and voila! A sweet, sumptuous little treat in no time.

October = pumpkin for me, in case you didn’t know. Psst. There are like 40 pumpkin recipes in this blog. I’ve done pumpkin-chocolate chip cookies before, but never pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (or cupcakes as the case may be). Some people love the combo, and I am one of them. These are equally good with or without the icing, I think. So if you can’t be bothered with the icing, don’t be!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

 

The Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Yummy pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes - perfect for a Halloween party.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 18-20
Ingredients
  • 4 eggs
  • 1½ cups granulated sugar
  • ½ cup light brown sugar
  • 2 cups canned pure pumpkin
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  • pinch ground cloves
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • For the frosting:
  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • ¼ cup butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups confectioners' sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Prepare muffin tins by either spraying them with cooking spray or lining them with paper liners.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, white sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
  4. In three batches, add the flour to the wet ingredients and stir to incorporate. Don't overmix, but incorporate thoroughly.
  5. Fold in the chocolate chips. Fill muffin cups at least ¾ of the way full. I like to create a big muffin top, so I fill them almost all the way.
  6. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown on top and a knife inserted comes out clean. If you have to have two layers of tins in your oven, rotate them halfway through the cooking time for even baking.
  7. To make the icing:
  8. While the muffins are baking, you can make the icing. With an electric hand mixer, cream together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and confectioner's sugar until completely smooth, Allow to chill if need be.
  9. To ice the cupcakes:
  10. Once the cupcakes come out of the oven, they will need to cool before you can ice them. Once they are cooled, you can fill a pastry bag with your icing and pipe it out into large concentric circles.

 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Categories
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Eye Candy: Scenes From the San Francisco Ferry Terminal Market

Lunch hour rush at Taylors Automatic Refresher at the San Francisco Ferry Terminal Building
Lunch hour rush at Taylor's Automatic Refresher at the San Francisco Ferry Terminal Building

The other day, I went to the Ferry Terminal Marketplace in San Francisco for lunch. I thought I’d add a mini-photo gallery to this blog featuring the tasty bites I sampled while there. I purchased the Recchiuti Chocolate sauce after sampling it, so watch for a future blog entry where I try out different ways to use the sauce. The Recchiuti representative recommended serving it with pears. Mmmm.

The best burgers in town? Definitely the best sweet potato french fries
The best burgers in town? Definitely the best sweet potato french fries
This Recchiuti chocolate sauce is to die for!
This Recchiuti chocolate sauce is to die for!
Recchiuti Chocolates: A symphony in your mouth for about a buck fifty
Recchiuti Chocolates: A symphony in your mouth for about a buck fifty
Recchiuti Bittersweet Chocolate. Mmmm.
Recchiuti Bittersweet Chocolate. Mmmm.
Heirloom Tomatoes at The Farm Fresh to You store, which provides Bay Area customers with Capay Organic farms quality seasonal organic produce.
Heirloom Tomatoes at The "Farm Fresh to You" store, which provides Bay Area customers with Capay Organic farm's quality seasonal organic produce.
Olive Oil tasting at McEvoy Ranch Olive Oil
Olive Oil tasting at McEvoy Ranch Olive Oil
Miette - Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream
Miette - Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream
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