These aromatic pumpkin cupcakes are perfect for Halloween, but you can eat them any time of the year, especially if you use canned pumpkin, as the recipe states.
* Total Time: 1 hour
* Prep Time: 15 minutes
Our Cream Cheese Frosting is my number one favourite topping, but chocolate or vanilla frosting are also delicious options. Kids will have a ball decorating their own cupcakes; just put out some dried fruit, gummie candies and decorative icing for them to use.
If you want to turn it into chocolate frosting, add 60 mL to 125 mL (1/4 to 1/2 cup) dry cocoa during Step 2, according to how rich you like it.
Ingredients:
Makes 24 cupcakes
- 650 mL (2-3/4 cups) flour
- 5 mL (1 tsp) each: cinnamon, ground cloves, ginger, nutmeg
- 10 mL (2 tsp) baking powder
- 10 mL (2 tsp) baking soda
- 5 mL (1 tsp) salt
- 250 mL (1 cup) butter
- 750 mL (3 cups) sugar
- 3 eggs
- 10 mL (2 tsp) vanilla
- 450 mL (15 oz) can of pumpkin
Optional:
- 175 mL (3/4 cup) of walnut pieces
- Toothpicks
- Decorations: gummie candies, candied fruit
- Ziploc® brand Snap ‘n Seal Containers
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
- Two 240 mL (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, softened
- 2 sticks of butter, softened
- Two 500 g (1 lb) boxes confectioners' sugar
- 10 mL (2 tsp) vanilla
Optional:
- Add 60 mL to 125 mL (1/4 to 1/2 cup) dry cocoa, to taste
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 177 °C (350 °F).
- In a medium-sized bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Place butter and sugar in a large bowl, and beat together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs to the wet ingredients (large bowl) one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
- Stir 1/3 of the flour mixture (from Step 2) into the wet ingredients (large bowl), then 1/2 the can of pumpkin. Follow that with 1/3 flour mixture, then the rest of the pumpkin and then the remaining flour mixture.
- Pour the batter into each cup until three-quarters full.
- Bake cupcakes for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely in their pan on a wire rack. Then take each cup carefully out of the tray.
- Frost each cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting.
- Add decorations on top. Some options: arrange candy corn in a wheel shape around the edge of the cupcake. Or use multicoloured gummie candies or worms in a pile. Or slice into candied orange slices to make the features of a jack o' lantern (eyes, nose and mouth). Or use store-bought icing with decorating tips to draw faces.
- After your cupcakes have cooled, make sure to store them in a Ziploc® brand Snap ‘n Seal Container to keep them fresh.
Cream Cheese Frosting Directions:
- Place the cream cheese and the butter in a bowl. Beat with electric mixer until soft and evenly combined.
- Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla and beat until combined and smooth.
