Pumpkin Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Again.  Again I have raging allergic aversions.  At least I think that is what is going on.  Moral of the story is to not skip a workout to clean out a closet that hasn't been cleaned out in four years.  At least not without a mask.  But here, as promised, is the recipe for my Pumpkin Apple Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Make them, have someone else make them- and eat them all until they are gone.  Amen.

Pumpkin Apple Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 t vanilla
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t ginger
1/8 t cloves
1/2 cup buttermilk, sour cream, or plain greek yogurt
1 Large Granny Smith Apple, chopped into 1/2" cubes
2 T granulated sugar + 2 t cinnamon + 1 t flour

Preheat he oven to 350.  Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.

Cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy (this can take up to 8-10 minutes).  Add the eggs one at a time, fully incorporating into the batter.  Stir in the pumpkin and vanilla.  Yes, your batter just became nearly curdled-looking.  Do not worry.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.  Add to the batter alternatively with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour.  Your batter should no longer look curdled.  Be sure to scrape the sides and bottoms of the bowl between additions.

Chop up the apple and toss in the sugar/flour/cinnamon mixture.  Fold into the batter.  Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, almost to the top (these do not rise much).  Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until done.

Cream Cheese Frosting
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened but still cool
8 oz cream cheese, softened but still cool
3.5 cups powdered sugar
1 t vanilla extract
pinch of kosher salt

Beat the butter and cream cheese together until no longer lumpy.  Sift the powdered sugar into the mixture, and mix until combined.  Add the vanilla and salt, and mix again.  For fluffier frosting, you can beat for 3-5 minutes, but note that it will be full of small air bubbles and therefore not quite as pretty for frosting.

Frost after cooling completely, and decorate as desired.  I topped mine with Pumpkin Spice Hershey's Kisses and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Enjoy!

Recipe for Blackberry Curd!

I posted pictures of these gorgeous cupcakes on Saturday, and I promised a recipe.

Here it is!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Blackberry Curd and Dump Frosting
(One recipe Pumpkin Spice Cake*)


Blackberry Curd
1/3 C blackberry puree, seeds removed
juice of 1 lemon (or lime)
1/3 C + 2 T white sugar (if your puree is extremely tart, go ahead and make it 2/3 C sugar
3 eggs
4 T butter, in cubes


Place all of the ingredients in a heatproof bowl over simmering water, and stir constantly until the temperature reaches @165 degrees.  Remove from heat.  Your mixture should be moderately thick.  Add the butter a piece at a time, and set aside to cool.  After 30 minutes, cover surface with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator at least 4 hours.

Bake your cupcakes. *I baked 12 cupcakes and poured the remaining batter into a 6" cake pan.  I would hesitate to halve this recipe, as it is hard to properly cream a half a stick of butter with a stand mixer.  When cooled, I put the cake layer in the freezer, maybe for some cake pops down the road.

When your cupcakes are cool, core the center.  I use a 1" round cookie cutter and press it into the center, that way they are all uniform.  Make sure you leave an ample amount of cake in the cupcake, as no one wants a mouthful of custard (and that pumpkin cupcake is too, too good!).

Drop a few tablespoons of the curd in the cavities of the cupcakes, and then frost as desired.  Like I mentioned in my previous post, I used a combination of leftover Swiss Meringue Buttercream, cream cheese, and butter.  There was no rhyme, no reason.  I knew I wanted it to be fluffy, almost the consistency of whipped cream, but with more staying power.  Perhaps a Seven-Minute Frosting?  I do love Seven-Minute Frosting, but I was out of corn syrup.  Besides, why not use what you have laying around?

Please do try this blackberry curd.  It is simple, refreshing, and purple- for heaven's sake!  It is not too often we get to indulge in purple food.

Have a great Monday!

Rachel Bee