Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Syrup Frosting and Marzipan Pumpkins

I had the weekend off and not much to do so decided to get a little Martha Stewart and create Halloween cupcakes to give away. Decided to create pumpkin cupcakes but wasn't sure which recipe to use. I thought to go with Martha Stewart because hey ... she has some pretty solid stuff. But then I came upon a recipe from Smitten Kitchen that looked really good and quite easy. And since I had some left over maple syrup, I thought this would be the perfect frosting to go with it. I did adjust the sugar content of the frosting to 1 cup instead of 2 since maple syrup is sweet enough on it's own. This made the frosting not as stiff so I decided to spread it and make little spiderwebs on top using a black sparkle gel frosting pen from Wilton's. Making the spiderwebs were easy. All you did was spread the white frosting on top, then make four circles of black. Then take a toothpick and drag it from the center of the cupcake to the edge. Or look at the here. The marzipan pumpkins were made with pre-made marzipan and followed this video here. Though for the stems, I used tiny little chocolates I found that fit perfectly. I then drew little faces on them with the gel pen and ta-dah! Cute pumpkin cupcakes. :D

I think I outdid myself this time.


Pumpkin Cupcakes
Makes: 17 to 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
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

Directions:
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.

Maple Syrup Frosting:

Ingredients:
8 ounce cream cheese, softened (I used that fat free kind)
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (I actually skipped this)
2 cups confectioners’ sugar (I added 1 cup), sifted
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Directions:
1. Beat cream cheese, maple syrup and confectioner's sugar until fluffy and smooth. Pop in the fridge to harden until time to frost.


Have another couple of days off. Probably do a little shopping. :D