November SHF

definitely not martha is hosting this month's Sugar High Friday, and the theme is "The Beta Carotene Harvest." I made these pumpkin cupcakes for my housemate's birthday, which also coincided with Halloween (leading to a party called "Joshoween!"). They were a big hit at the party. Another housemate did the great decorating--I can't take credit for that! :)


Pumpkin Cupcakes (from Chow.com)

4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
2 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups canned pumpkin
1 cup milk
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Sift together dry ingredients and set aside.
3. Whisk together pumpkin and milk and set aside.
4. Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and beat until smooth.
5. Add the dry ingredients in 3 batches, alternating with the pumpkin-milk mixture.
6. Pour into muffin tins and bake 18-20 minutes.

The original recipe calls for buttermilk icing (recipe here), but I just used a simple cream cheese frosting instead, made up of an 8 oz. package of softened whipped cream, a few tablespoons of butter, and some powdered sugar.