chocolate pumpkin cupcakes.

this morning, i ran into an old friend. i love it when that happens. i hadn't see him in a little while, so it was random. we were chatting for a bit and i knew that i was making dinner tonight, so i invited him to join us. and since i knew that the dinner part was going to be easy, i decided to "impress" him with dessert. i'm not sure if i did, but he did eat two cupcakes at my house and took a plate full home.

now, this dessert wasn't as easy as i thought it was going to be, but it worked out all the same. i think it would have been easier had i not been worrying about getting dinner ready at the same time.


chocolate pumpkin cupcakes
makes 30 cupcakes (approximately)

2 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup good-quality cocoa
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
2 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon fresh grated-nutmeg (i didn’t use fresh, so i added 1 teaspoon of the ground variety.)
¾ cup buttermilk
1 ½ cups pumpkin purée (i used canned pumpkin, so i ended up adding an additional ¼ cup buttermilk because the batter was a little thick.)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¼ sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs

heat oven to 375° f. sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl and set aside. combine the buttermilk, pumpkin and vanilla in a medium bowl and set aside. beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl, with an electric mixer set on medium speed, until fluffy. add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until the mixture is smooth and light. alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture, blending well after each addition.

place cupcake liners in standard cupcake tins. and fill each with ¼ cup of batter. bake for 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. let cool.


orange cream cheese frosting

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
¼ teaspoon orange food coloring (i made my own orange with a little red and yellow food coloring.)

blend the cream cheese, butter, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla in a large bowl, using an electric mixer set at medium speed, until smooth. add the sugar and continue to beat until light and creamy, about three more minutes. add the food coloring and gently stir until the color is uniform. chill the frosting until ready to ice the cupcakes. chill iced cupcakes until ready to serve.