Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cheesecake Frosting

Never before have I been such a pumpkin fan. I don't really like pumpkin pie. I never go crazy over the pumpkin spice lattes when they come out at Starbucks. It has never really been my thing. Until this year. I have been making EVERYTHING with pumpkin. Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin brownies, and eventually I will probably make a pumpkin cheesecake. So when I was thinking of what to make my friend for her birthday, I knew it had to be pumpkin cupcakes!

Because I am not very familiar with pumpkin puree as an ingredient in baked goods, I stuck almost 100% to Martha Stewart's recipe for Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes.

However, instead of buttermilk (who keeps buttermilk on hand all the time?) I used almond milk. I imagine the buttermilk actually serves a purpose to react with the baking soda and help the cupcakes rise, but even without it the cupcakes were perfectly light and airy. There are lots of ways you can get around using buttermilk though, like adding vinegar to milk and letting it sit for a minute or two.

If I make these cupcakes again, I will probably increase the cinnamon and nutmeg. They were just a little too mellow for me, but I love cinnamon and nutmeg. 

Once everything was mixed together and I started scooping the batter into tins, I decided to break from the recipe and add dark chocolate chips to the remaining batter. Judging from my friends text messages after I dropped them off, that was a good decision. 

I baked them at 375 for about 22 minutes. Then I let them cool on the rack before I frosted them so that the frosting wouldn't melt everywhere.

Now, for the frosting that I like to call "Cheesecake Frosting". Since I was between making my friend pumpkin cheesecake or cupcakes, I decided to sort of combine the two. The original cupcake recipe calls for cream cheese frosting, which seems pretty standard for pumpkin cupcakes. Really, the only difference between the two is butter. 

For my frosting I substituted the butter (a half a cup!!) for an equal amount of Greek yogurt. Not only does it make this frosting just a tad bit healthier, the yogurt sort of mellows out the tang from the cream cheese, which I think makes it taste more like cheesecake. I mean, I am using all the same ingredients as my cheesecake, except eggs. I also added in a bit more vanilla. But I do that with everything.

And all I did was throw everything into the bowl at once, then whip up with the whisk attachment of my stand mixer. Slow at first or else the powdered sugar will get everywhere. Then I spooned it into a piping bag fitted with a fairly wide tip. I let that sit in the fridge for a while until the cupcakes cooled completely and the frosting stiffened up.

Once everything was cooled down, I piped on the frosting. Then dusted all of the cupcakes with a cinnamon sugar mixture. I would have loved to have made little pumpkins with melted dark chocolate, but I just ran out of time. Maybe next time. 

Literally, I could just eat the frosting with a spoon. Yum!

Recipe after the jump!


Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes (I halved the original recipe)
Cupcake Ingredients
4 cups cake flour (I used AP)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk (I used almond milk)
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
Cheesecake Icing
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients together until incorporated.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar with a mixer until fluffy.
3. Add in each egg, one at a time, mixing in after every egg. Add in vanilla and mix.
4. Pour in 1/3 of the dry mixture and mix until fully incorporated into the batter. Next pour in 1/2 the butter milk and mix. Repeat once more, then add in the remaining dry mixture.
5. In a prepared muffing tin, spoon our pour in the batter until about 2/3 full. 
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes in a 375 oven.
7. Meanwhile, to make the icing, add all ingredients into a bowl and whisk until combined and all lumps are removed. Refrigerate until ready to use.
8. When cupcakes are done, allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes.
9. Frost cupcakes using a knife, offset spatula, or piping bag.