Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

For the Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

• 100 g salted butter
• 150 g cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 250–280 g icing sugar
• ½ tbsp milk
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp cinnamon, or more according to taste
• A pinch of salt

For the cupcake batter

• 125g plain flour (spooned & levelled)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 120 ml vegetable oil (or coconut oil)
• 2 large free-range eggs
• 150 g packed light or dark brown sugar
• 225 g canned pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Marzipan or sugar paste pumpkins to decorate 

Instructions

For the Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Melt the butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat, stirring constantly. The butter will get foamy, then bubbly, then start to turn golden brown and develop a nutty/caramel aroma. Once it becomes a deep golden colour, remove from the heat and pour into a bowl. Leave to chill in the fridge or freezer until it is the consistency of room temperature butter again (not melted butter).
2. Cream together the softened brown butter and half of the icing sugar and mix well. Add the remaining icing sugar, milk, cinnamon, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt and mix until creamy. Then, add the cream cheese and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.

For the cupcake batter

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C top and bottom heat (not fan). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Whisk the oil, eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin and vanilla extract together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a mixer or whisk until smooth. The batter will be thick.
4. Pour or spoon the batter into the liners – fill them only 2/3 full to prevent the batter from overflowing. Bake for 20–22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
5. Decorate the frosting with some spooky edibles or pumpkin sugar pastes.

For more on this recipe and other seasonal options, click here to visit Kachen.

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