Pumpkin Cupcakes

I really love cakes with any vegetable such as carrot, zucchini or pumpkin. And for these dates what better than a pumpkin cake? This time I did cupcakes with it. I like the smell, the taste and it is extremply soft. I used the pumpkin jam I did to fill some of them, and they are even more softer and tasty. 

I topped them with cream cheese. Even I love the cream cheese frosting I have to say I rather eat them without the frosting, just after they cool down a little bit, that is when I enjoy the most this cake. It would be great to make them some scary but in my country we do not celebrate Halloween. But as a lot of other costums this Celtic tradition is also taking place in Spain and in the Netherlands, and you can see it in a lot of stores where you can buy all kind of Halloween stuff. I did not know so much about this celebration until I lived for some months in Ireland, so there I celebrated my only one Halloween party, it was great.

INGREDIENTS makes 12
190 g all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
100 g butter, cubed and at room temperature
120 g light brown caster sugar
2 large eggs
200 g pumpkin purée
60 ml buttermilk
pumpkin jam for filling (optional)

For the pumpking purée: you will need about 280/300 g of pumpkin to get 200 g of purée. Put the peeled and cubed pumpkin in a medium saucepan covered with unsalted water until the pumpkin is slightly soft. Remove water and make the purée using a blender. Let it cool down while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 160º.

Sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, bicarbonate and salt in a bowl, and set aside.

Put the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream with and electric hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs on at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the sifted dry ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. Finally add the pumpkin purée and the buttermilk.

Divide the mixture between the cupcakes cases. Bake 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven, let them in the tin for 5 minutes and finally let them cool completely in a wire rack before decorating.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
140 g cream cheese (very cold)

60 g butter, cubed and at room temperature

1 tablespoon of whole milk

300 g icing sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnnamon and some more for the topping

Sift the icing sugar in the mixing bowl, add the butter and the milk and beat until until well mixed and pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the cream cheese and the cinnamon and beat until fluffy.

Top the cupcakes with the frosting and dust with ground cinnamon.

Very important take out the cream cheese just before using, it is necessary to be very cold.

I rather fill cupcakes with jam or brush them with syrup, since you can keep them longer. With the pumking jam mixed with the cream cheese frosting is absolutly delicious.

If you are a Halloween lover just top the cupcakes with a little fonfant or marzipan pumpkin!

Next post I will tell you what is traditionally to do in my town for the 31st october evening.

What are you gonna do for Halloween? ♥