Yes, pumpkin cupcakes again. It’s officially autumn, so pumpkin cupcakes will make an appearance at least one more time this season. Since I’ve already gone on and on and on and on and on about pumpkins in my previous posts, I’ll keep this one simple.
Ogle the beautiful pumpkiny goodness and find the recipe after the jump. I used the classic pumpkin cupcake recipe and this time topped them with cream cheese icing.
I’m not really sure where the idea for Banana Cream Pie cupcakes came from, since I don’t even like bananas. I hate the banana-flavored Runts, avoid banana nut bread like the Black Death, and let’s not even talk about regular old bananas. Tastes like old socks to me. But hey, I understand that people enjoy bananas. And the homemade banana pudding I made for these cupcakes was actually pretty amazing (yes, I tasted it, and it’s AWESOME). And that’s saying something.
For the cupcakes, I just used a standard vanilla cupcake recipe (courtesy of Magnolia Bakery, of course). I used a standard vanilla buttercream for the frosting, but I bet adding in some cinnamon would be great.
When I was looking up banana cream pie recipes to adapt into cupcakes, I was shocked at how many called for regular vanilla pudding over banana slices….really? No banana-flavored pudding? Sigh. I figured I had to do it the old-fashioned way: making banana pudding from scratch.
As for the filling, I will warn you: it’s a lot of work. I got the recipe from Salon, of all places, and it called for a banana caramel with a traditional pudding base. You could just buy a box of Jell-o vanilla pudding and add in a couple of pureed bananas. but honestly, the homemade banana pudding is worth it.
To fill the cupcakes, I used the cone method, just like I did for the apple pie cupcakes. I topped these off with a crushed vanilla wafer garnish.
I recommend making the pudding first, and have it cool while you’re baking the cupcakes.
Autumn is my favorite time to bake – second only to Christmas, of course. Fall baking is indulgent and sweet and almost always includes a heavy dose of cinnamon. Plus, they always seem to take advantage of some of the delicious things so prevalent during the season: apples and pumpkins. And we know how I feel about pumpkins.
These apple pie cupcakes are perfect if you want that apple pie fix without going through all the trouble of making a pie. Yes, the filling is a little labor-intensive, but whipping up a batch of cupcakes is nothing compared to a well-made pie crust.
Essentially, these are vanilla cupcakes with apple pie filling in the center. To fill the cupcakes, I used what’s known as the “cone method”. To do this, take a paring knife and place it about 1/4 inch from the edge of the cupcake and hold it at a 45 degree angle. Cut around the cupcake until you have a cone-shaped cupcake top which can then be removed. I’m sure you could do something yummy with those.
I drizzled a little caramel sauce on these before I frosted them, which was messy, but tasted great.
I can’t believe it’s almost been a year since I’ve started this blog! It’s been so much fun baking and updating every week. I hope I can do this for many more years! In honor of the beginning of September, this week I made pumpkin cupcakes (which, loyal readers, I hope you remember was the first recipe I ever posted on the blog). Hopefully these turned out a lot better.
I don’t know about where you are, but here in Upstate New York this week has been a scorcher, which is why I wasn’t sure if the world was ready for pumpkin quite yet. Yes, it’s September. Yes, pumpkin beer and pumpkin lattes have already been rolled out at most retail locations. It just seems a little weird eating pumpkin-and-cinnamon-flavored treats when it’s a hot and hazy 93 degrees outside. Nevertheless, pumpkin is just too good to put off any longer, so here they are!
I’ve posted the original pumpkin cupcake recipe again after the jump. You’ll also find my improved frosting recipe – this time, a cinnamon buttercream instead of that brown sugar monstrosity from last year. If it wasn’t my first post, I’d delete it. Why did you guys eat those things?!
These are much more adorable:
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