Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
These pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting are my FAVE pumpkin dessert. A soft cupcake that's filled with pumpkin and spices, a cool, thick, cinnamon cream cheese frosting, and to top it off? A crunchy, sweet and salty pumpkin seed brittle! Ah-mazing.
Servings: 48 mini cupcakes
Calories: 161kcal
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese softened,
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 - 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Pumpkin Seed Brittle
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups lightly salted pumpkin seeds (toasted in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes on a baking sheet)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter room temperature
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Sift together the dry ingredients in a bowl (the flour through baking soda) and set aside.
- Cream together the softened butter and sugars until fluffy.
- Add in the eggs until well incorporated, add in the milk and pumpkin puree, and then gently fold in the dry ingredients.
- Scoop into a lined mini muffin tin and bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack.
Cinnamon cream cheese frosting
- Cream together butter and cream cheese, then slowly add in sifted powdered sugar. Add in vanilla and cinnamon and beat until fluffy!
Pumpkin seed brittle
- Set out the ingredients of the brittle: water, light corn syrup, sugar, salt, pumpkin seeds, baking soda, vanilla, butter,
- Start by placing the water, corn syrup, sugar, and salt in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly using a wooden spoon until the mixture comes to a boil, then cover with a lid and let cook for exactly 60 seconds.
- Remove the lid and cook the syrup until the temperature reaches 280 degrees F (this takes a while, so be patient).
- This next part happens fast. Stir in the pumpkin seeds and stir constantly until the mixture is at 300 degrees F.
- Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the baking soda, vanilla, and butter. The mixture will foam up, keep stirring until it is no longer foaming and immediately pour (as thinly as possible) onto a greased baking sheet or silicone mat.
- If you must spread further, use two forks to gently pull the edges away from the center.
- Let this cool completely and then break into pieces!
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Notes
*Storing information is for cupcakes. Store unfrosted in freezer.
If using a "regular" sized muffin tin, you'll need to increase baking time to about 25 minutes.
These taste best when assembled just before serving, so the three components should be stored separately in airtight containers.
The cupcakes should be stored at room temperature, the frosting in the fridge, and the brittle in the freezer.
Brittle recipe: very slightly adapted from Joy of Baking
Nutrition
Serving: 1mini cupcake + frosting & brittle | Calories: 161kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 78mg | Potassium: 74mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 877IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg