A Southern Grace: unwritten rules

September 24, 2013

unwritten rules

Yum

You're not supposed to wear white after Labor Day, but why not? It's an unwritten rule that really has no basis in our society anymore. There's another rule that everyone seems to follow for no apparent reason--even though it's widely available year-round, you rarely see pumpkin used as an ingredient until fall officially begins.


Well, glory be, fall is here! Scrolling through my reader yesterday after a few days away revealed that about 50% of the posts I missed were pumpkin-focused, and that may be understating it. It's as if all bloggers were patiently sitting on their pumpkin recipes, just waiting for fall to begin. I, of course, wouldn't do anything like that. I do what I want, rebelling against social norms at every opportunity.*

*That's a lie.


These cupcakes are delicious and will even please those among you who are on the fence about pumpkin. There's enough other stuff going on (like, say, fluffy cinnamon-scented whipped cream) to mute the flavor of the pumpkin, but not so much that you weird pumpkin-lovers won't still be appeased. I liked the cream cheese frosting on these, but it needed a little something. A hint of maple might be nice, or even the tiniest pinch of ginger, nutmeg, or cloves to tie everything together.


My contribution to the onslaught of pumpkin recipes is hereby complete.

Bandwagon-Boarding Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
Ingredients:
Makes 16 cupcakes
Cupcakes:
  • 2 cups cake flour, sifted
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1-1/4 cups brown sugar, tightly packed
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 3/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
Filling:
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream, cold
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Frosting:
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.
Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices; set aside.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream the butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, beating until just combined. Add the pumpkin; beat until just combined.
Divide the batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.
To make the filling, simply whip the cream and sugar until stiff, then blend in the cinnamon.
To make the frosting, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter until smooth, then add the cream cheese and beat until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add the sugar then the vanilla, and mix until smooth and combined, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
To fill the cupcakes, carve out a cone-shaped hole and squirt the cinnamon whipped cream inside. Apply frosting generously to the cupcakes and, after giving the components a few minutes to mingle, zealously partake.



21 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Droolworthy!

Cheers,

Rosa

Marjie said...

I adore pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie, so pumpkin cupcakes should be delightful, too! But why the grey center in the last picture?

Anyway, my word verification is "Awesenum!" Could have been invented for this cupcake!

scrambledhenfruit said...

Guilty as charged with the pumpkin focused recipe this week, but it wouldn't seem like fall without at least one pumpkin recipe, would it? These do look yummy, especially with that creamy filling and frosting. :)

My Kitchen Stories. said...

Yep I noticed that too. I truley dont understand it as most US bloggers use canned pumpkin any way?. we dont have tinned pumpkin here so its not so easy to turn on the fountain of pumpkin recipes

Anonymous said...

we are sure you are cupcake queen...all wonderful sweet treats we love and then we see them as adorable,petite and gorgeous cupcakes in your blog...loved these treats too :-)

Blond Duck said...

I'm so glad you broke the rule! These look awesome!

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

I do love breaking those rules very occasionally (okay hubby would disagree and say that I love to break them often :P). I'm firmly team pumpkin and these look fab!

Pam said...

They look decadent and delicious. My kids would be thrilled with these beauties.

Alicia Foodycat said...

It does seem to be an inviolable rule for American bloggers! Slight wiggle room if you use apples instead. These sound lovely!

Gloria Baker said...

this look really delicious Grace!

Judit + Corina @WineDineDaily said...

This look decandent and very tempting!
Cheers,
J+C

Nutmeg Nanny said...

My heart is fluttering looking at these cupcakes :) I cannot wait to taste these

Katerina said...

It is amazing how pumpkin is so much connected to fall! I love your cupcakes they look very moist and fluffy. A great tribute to pumpkin period!

Joanne said...

I broke out the pumpkin officially this week via a can I had stored up since last year! And it was fabulous.

I am loving the cinnamon fluff filling you dolloped into these!

Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic said...

I definitely ride the pumpkin wave during the fall, but I also hoard cans of pumpkin to last me all year round so when the mood strikes in say, June, I can easily whip up a pumpkin dish ;) This looks great!

Lisa-Marie said...

Pumpkin recipes are relatively new to the UK - arriving roughly with the advent of the food blog, so we have less of the posts! Yours is the first in my reader!

Angie's Recipes said...

I have been eating LOTS of pumpkin and I am loving it! Your cupcake looks scrumptious!

vanillasugarblog said...

I'm am trying to think of creative (and not yet done) pumpkin recipes without going too cray cray.
So much has been done with pumpkin!
Food bloggers are getting really creative in the fall.

CQUEK said...

They look delicious! Must try them! :)

I Wilkerson said...

Mmmm, I was just thinking about baking with pumpkin! I guess I'm late!

Jeff @ Cheese-burger.net said...

What better way to celebrate the fall than with a cupcake snack made up of pumpkin with some spice.