Sunday, October 9, 2011

Welcome Fall-Pumpkin Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream

Ok so I found yet another recipe on Pinterest. Pumpkin Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream. The answer is yes, these are as delicious as they sounds. I'm no expert at frosting so mine were not nearly as pretty as pic I found online here. However, no one cared what they looked like, they were yummy! I've attached the recipe here with my notes.

Copied from their website:


Pumpkin Cupcakes

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (I'don't keep allspice around normally so I just added a bit more cinnamon and nutmeg)
  • 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 4 large eggs, lightly beaten (I didn't beat before putting into the mixture, still worked fine)
  • 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Beat on medium speed until well combined. Add dry ingredients, and mix on low until smooth. Fold in pumpkin puree.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely. (Mine were done precisely at 20 minutes by my oven tends to run warm)

Makes ~ 18 cupcakes.

Source: Adapted from MarthaStewart.com.

Salted Caramel Buttercream

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 stick salted butter
  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 cups powdered sugar

In a saucepan, stir together granulated sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cook without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color. Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla, stirring until very smooth. Let caramel cool for about 20 minutes, until it is just barely warm and still pourable. (This step is more difficult than it sounds, by the time the sugar was that dark, adding cream made it harden almost immediately, you have to add the cream VERY slowly whisking quickly, I recruited my hubby to help hold the pan so I could accomplish this, after the second try it worked fairly well, still had a few hard pieces of caramel I had to pull out. Also, I didn't let it cool the full 20 min, after 15 it was plenty cool and stiffening up)

In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and salt together until lightened and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add powdered sugar. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the caramel. Beat on medium high speed until light and airy, and completely mixed (about 2 minutes). Mixture should be ready to use without refrigeration. If your caramel was too hot when added, it will cause your icing to be runny. If this happens refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.
Source: Slightly adapted from SprinkleBakes.com and madeinmelskitchen.com.

NOTE: The seasalt I used was coarse, it tastes great, however keep in mind that when you frost these, you want to use a frosting tip large enough for the sea salt to pass through (lesson learned). Next time I may have to grind the sea salt just a touch as occasionally you get an awfully crunchy bite, but the flavor is awesome.

1 comment:

Cheryl said...

What fun! I'm so excited that you are into Pinterest! We will have a blast!