..Pumpkin Cupcakes

I volunteered to make cupcakes for a coworker's wedding shower at work.  At first I wasn’t sure what flavor I should do because I wanted to keep it simple and classy, but I’m totally over vanilla and chocolate cake right now.  Then I remembered that it’s one of my favorite months of the year, one that warrants pumpkin flavored anything, any time of day.  These cupcakes are SO amazing.  Seriously!  I can’t take credit for the original recipe, it’s one by Martha Stewart and she really knows her stuff.  All I did differently  was add 1/8^th teaspoon of ground ginger, skipped the sage, and used salted butter (instead of unsalted). Just the smell of the cake batter had me cupcake-drunk.  I dedcided a spiced cream cheese icing would be a great match for this particular cupcake (I have seen this combo everywhere recently).  They also needed some little love or wedding indicator so I made chocolate hearts to top them off.  Aren't they cute?

Brown Butter Pumpkin Cupcakes (Martha Stewart Cupcakes)

3/4 cup butter

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.  In a pan, melt the butter over medium heat until butter turns brown. Skim foam from top, and remove from heat. Pour into a bowl and leave any burned sediment behind. Let cool.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, (ginger), and cloves. In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, both sugars, eggs, and brown-butter mixture. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet until until completely blended.

3. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Spiced Cream Cheese Icing

Just follow this exact recipe and add a teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/8^th teaspoon of nutmeg, an 1/8^th a teaspoon of ginger, and the tiniest bit of ground cloves (less than 1/8^th teaspoon).  Frost with a 1M tip.

Chocolate Hearts

Melt ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips using the defrost setting on your microwave in 45 second intervals.  Stir between the intervals.  Use a piping bag to make heart shapes on wax paper and top your cupcakes when they are dry.

Cheers!