Bye bye SUMMER and hello FALL! I have the perfect SEASONAL treat for you: spiced pumpkin cupcakes with salted caramel buttercream frosting. These pumpkin cupcakes are deliciously spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice. The salted caramel frosting is sweet, creamy, buttery, and salty. We promise these cupcakes won’t turn you into a pumpkin at midnight!
My SECRET ingredient in my baked goods is coarse sea salt, which I used in both the cupcake and the frosting. The combination of sweet and salty is DIVINE!
These cupcakes are PERFECT addition to any Fall or Holiday dessert menu. I served these scrumptious treats on both Halloween and Thanksgiving. One piece of advice: piping small details with the salted caramel buttercream frosting can be challenging. The coarse sea salt will get stuck inside small decorating tips. I suggest making a small portion of Toba Garrett’s buttercream for those finer details.
“I feel like Cinderella sitting in the middle of the road with a pumpkin and a couple of mice, while Prince Charming charges off to rescue some other chick.”––Cynthia Hand
Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes
Martha Stewart
Yield: 24 regular cupcakes
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Flour
- 1 Tsp Baking Soda
- 1 Tsp Baking Powder
- 1 Tsp Sea Salt
- 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/4 Tsp Nutmeg
- 1/4 Tsp Ground Allspice
- 1 Cup Light-Brown Sugar
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Cup (2 Sticks) Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 4 Eggs
- 1 Can (15 Ounces) Pumpkin Puree
Directions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and all spice
- Combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter and eggs
- Slowly put the flour mixture into the sugar / butter mixture
- Then after fully mixed, add the pumpkin puree
- Beat on a medium speed until well combined using a paddle attachment
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Line cupcake pans with paper liners
- Use an ice cream scoop to fill cupcakes
- Bake 15 – 20 minutes until tops spring back when touched and cake tester (toothpick!) inserted in the center comes out clean
- Transfer to wire rack to cool
Salted Caramel Frosting
Adapted from Made in Melissa’s Kitchen
Ingredients
- 1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 3 Tbs Water
- 1/3 Cup Heavy Cream
- 1.5 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1.5 Stick Unsalted Butter
- 1/3 Cup of Shortening
- 1.5 Tsp Sea Salt
- 2.5 Cups Powdered Sugar
Directions
- In a small saucepan, stir together granulated sugar and water and bring to a boil over medium high heat
- Cook without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color.
- Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla, stirring until very smooth
- Let caramel cool for about 20 minutes, until it is just barely warm and still pourable
- Combine butter, shortening and salt together until lightened and fluffy, using stand mixer
- Add in powdered sugar and mix until thoroughly combined
- Next scrape down the side of the bowl and add the caramel
- Beat on medium speed until light and airy and completely mixed
- Pipe orange frosting using a star tip and green frosting using a leaf tip
Ooh they look so good! Now I really want to have a cupcake! They are so cute!
omg how cute love how adorable those pumpkins are and so simple! and the little turkeys! I can’t even!
I am a sucker for pumpkin flavored anything. Definitely have to try this recipe!
These look so delicious! I do enjoy cupcakes. And pumpkin desserts.
These look so tasty!! thanks for sharing this recipe look so danm good@
How cute are these??!!! I love how festive they are and more importantly, they tasted so good! The spiced pumpkin flavor is perfect.
The cupcake designs are so adorable! And I love anything pumpkin, so I’m saving this recipe for later.
Wow! these cupcakes look so nice, would love to have a taste.
They look moist! And great designs, yummy!
These are super adorable, I’ll bet they taste great too!
I have so many friends who I know enjoys spiced pumpkin. I’ll send them this one.
I could eat pumpkin all year round!
Yummy!! I love all things pumpkin and I’d love to make and eat these!
I love pumpkin cupcakes and I have never made them that way. Thanks for sharing.