Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Thanksgiving is only a couple of weeks away, so I'll be posting some of my favorite recipes and would love to hear about your favorite Thanksgiving recipes too! I had to start with a pumpkin recipe, because as many of you already know, I Love Pumpkin! Here is my pumpkin bread recipe transformed into a cupcake recipe, with yummy cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 2/3 cup oil
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. each – ground cloves, nutmeg, and ginger
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Frosting Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 4 Tbsp. butter, at room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line muffin pan with 24 cupcake liners. In a medium bowl, stir together pumpkin, oil, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Gently whisk by hand until just combined, don’t use an electric mixer or over mix the batter as it may become too gummy. Fill liners with 1/4 cup batter (cups should be approximately 2/3 full). Bake for 22 to 24 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Gradually add powdered sugar, mixing well until it’s all incorporated.

Irvine Park Railroad: Pumpkin Patch

Ultimate Pumpkin Recipe:Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

My friend Terry requested this recipe, so I decided why not post it, in case anyone else was looking for a delectable Thanksgiving dessert. This is by far my favorite pumpkin recipe. I make this recipe a few times a year, especially during Halloween and Thanksgiving. This is of course a Paula Deen recipe and believe me, it can make even a pumpkin hater; love pumpkin.

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

Crust:

1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar (I use 10 oz to cut down on the sweetness)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.


Serve with fresh whipped cream.

6 to 8 servings

getting ready for Thanksgiving!

Well I have time for one more post and as I promised, I am posting more pumpkin ideas! I some how was talked into hosting Thanksgiving (I secretly wanted to host it anyways), so I have begun my search for the perfect pumpkin decor! Here are some of my favorite ideas.

Pumpkin Votive Holders

Pumpkin Placeholders

 

 Pumpkin Flower Arrangements

Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake

Halloween is right around the corner and Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) is soon to follow, so it gives me a chance to share my obsession with "Pumpkin"! For the next month or so I will be posting all my favorite pumpkin recipes and ideas, everything from pumpkin pie to pumpkin centerpieces.

Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake

ingredients:

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker, chocolate or 12 mini crusts
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time, then add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, stir gently until well blended. 
• Place pie crust/crusts on a baking sheet, carefully spread batter over the crust.
• Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.

Tips: 

You can substitute the cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg with 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. 

If making the 12 mini crusts reduce cooking time by 5-10 minutes.

Prevent cracks by baking the pie at a moderate temperature and even better, bake custard pies in a “water bath”. This prevents the outer layer of custard from baking too fast. But if it does crack, just remember you can cover it with whip cream!