Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

For a dessert party, I decided to make mostly my greatest hits instead of trying something new for a change (although using very good chocolate in some recipes I knew well was a bit of a learning process. I need more chocolate practice!). I did decide to try one new recipe ... pumpkin of course to honour the season and use up some of the ridiculous pumpkin puree collection sitting in the freezer. I wasn't too sure about these when I pulled them out of the oven. They didn't look quite right to me (some of them seemed to have exploded a bit ... maybe because I forgot to rap the pan to release the air bubbles?), but they were delicious. The maple cream cheese frosting is excellent, but a little bit runny and maybe a little light on maple flavour for me. I may keep searching for another maple cream cheese frosting recipe, but I think the cupcake portion is a definite keeper. I scaled the recipe in half and had 24 perfect mini muffins. I also found the amount of frosting to be just about right, but I heavily frosted them.

One year ago: Mocha Cupcakes with Kahlua Frosting
Two years ago: Broccoli Casserole

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting (from Smitten Kitchen, originally David Leite)

Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing pans
1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin
Frosting
Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Make the cupcakes:
1. Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Line a cupcake pan with 18 liners.
2. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl.
4. Add the eggs 1 at a time to the mixer, scraping down the sides after each addition.
5. Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour.
6. Beat in the pumpkin until smooth.
7. Scoop the batter among the cupcake liners — you’re looking to get them 3/4 full. Rap the filled pans once on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.
8. Make the frosting: In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy.
9. After frosting, refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes to set up frosting.