Fall and pumpkin. Pumpkin and Fall. The two go together like peanut butter and jelly, amirite?!
I’m sure you’ve been inundated with pumpkin recipes but I can assure you, you do not want to pass this one up for
so many reasons. Three, to be exact.
One, that pumpkin cake. Classic, flavorful, and oh-so-moist. Spiced to perfection.
Second, the frosting. I’ll be honest, there were numerous times as I was making the frosting that I thought there was no way anything would come of it. That I should just start over and cut my losses. But for some reason I pushed on. And the frosting went from a strange glob on the stove to one of the most uniquely delicious frostings I’ve ever made.
And finally, the candied pecan topper. I honesty couldn’t believe how quick and easy these were to make. Do not skip them, if possible. Because this crunchy topping adds the perfect finishing touch to an already perfect pumpkin cupcake.
Happy baking!
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting and Candied Pecans
Equipment
- Muffin pan
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cupcakes
- 1 c. pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 c. vegetable oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1 c. sugar
- 1 c. all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ginger
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. cloves
Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 c. butter
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 c. powdered sugar
Candied Pecans
- 2/3 c. pecans
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
Instructions
Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Heat oven to 375ºF. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners; set aside until ready to use.
- In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs, oil, vanilla extract, sugar, and stir to thoroughly combine. Add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix just until blended.
- Evenly fill muffin tin with the batter. Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted center comes out clean. Let cool completely on wire rack.
Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- Meanwhile, for the frosting, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat until browned. Add cream cheese, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and powdered sugar, and mix until smooth. Chill frosting until cool and then beat until fluffy (should only take a couple of minutes). Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.
Candied Pecans
- In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine the pecans, sugar, and butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is melted. Cool on a piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle candied pecans on cupcakes.
Notes
- Just in case you missed my note in the paragraphs, do not give up on the frosting! It will look like a congealed blob on the stove, like it could never become any type of edible frosting. But trust the process 😉
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