pumpkin spice cupcakes

pumpkin spice muffins with cream cheese icing

The leaves are falling, so something with pumpkin spice sounds really nice alongside my mug of steaming hot tea. It is hard to decide between baking a cake or cupcakes but cupcakes are easy to share and I want to spread the love. This recipe yields very moist cake and who doesn’t appreciate a little cream cheese icing? If you want something with nuts and raisins, try my pumpkin muffin recipe.

pumpkin spice cupcakes

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Serves: Makes 18 medium-size cupcakes Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1½ cups light-brown sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons maple syrup
¾ cup milk
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
cream cheese icing:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, eggs, pumpkin puree, maple syrup and milk.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and whisk until smooth.

Divide the batter evenly between the baking cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake until the tops spring back when lightly touched, 18 to 22 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

In a medium bowl prepare the icing by mixing the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until just combined. Add the sugar and mix until smooth.

Pipe or spread the icing over the cooled cupcakes.