My forays into holiday food have been so-so this year. I even had one unmitigated disaster that went straight into the trash. If I run out of things to blog, I’ll tell you about it.
I decided that it was my penchant for substituting important things that was doing me wrong. Obviously, I need to experiment more with using sugar substitutes. This time, I pulled out the real stuff. I used three different recipes, which I’ll link, and combined them into deliciousness. Seriously, these things are freakin’ amazing. Also: sugar coma. I made a couple of minor changes, and the baking instructions are different. Here we go.
CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN CUPCAKE
This batter was soooo tasty
Pumpkin Batter (original recipe):
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground garam masala (ginger in the original recipe–use if you like)
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the butter and the sugar. Beat with a hand-held mixer until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the pumpkin puree and the vanilla extract. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time. Incorporate the dry mixture into the wet mixtures together until thoroughly combined.
Chocolate Batter (original recipe):
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup cocoa
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup boiling water
- Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
- Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter.
Yep, completely different consistencies. It works out.
- Preheat oven to 325°
- Put cupcake liners in muffin tin, spray lightly with nonstick spray. I was skeptical about this, but it really did help.
Festive!
- Put a glob of pumpkin batter in the middle of the liner. Pour a bit of chocolate over the top, and move on to the next cupcake. When you’re done with the tin, go back and fill all the muffin cups with chocolate to about 3/4 full.
Letting that first bit of chocolate settle around the pumpkin
- Bake about 17 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Okay, they look good on the outside…
Yes! I win!
While those are cooling, you can whip up…
The cupcakes are delicious without frosting. Depends on if you’re a frosting person.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting (original recipe):
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened (really, make sure it’s softened, or you won’t get it smooth)
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth
- Add the sugar slowly until incorporated
- Add the vanilla and cinnamon, beat until fluffy
After this, I got out the cake decorating stuff.
Yes, those bags came with the kit. Yes, I’ve had it for years. I don’t do this much. I used the wide round tip and piped in a simple spiral. I know my limits. A touch of black and orange sprinkles, and all pretty! I sent most of these to work with the Spousal Unit. His co-workers have encouraged me to bake more Halloween treats.
