Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes

With my love of pumpkin I searched my favorite sites for a new pumpkin recipe. I wanted to try something different. I found this recipe for Spice Pumpkin Cupcakes on the Williams Sonoma website. I love that site. Anyhoo….These cupcakes were really good. They are supposed to be topped with a white chocolate frosting, but I just couldn’t get myself to do it. I don’t really care for White chocolate. I know, I know…what person in their right mind would not like white chocolate? I am one of the few. The cupcakes did taste good alone though. They actually tasted like little versions of a pumpkin bread. I liked the raisins in this bread. I had never put raisins in pumpkin bread before. It was a nice addition. These little cupcakes would be really good to make in those mini muffin tins and then have them to take along for a small snack. I bet they would be great with a cream cheese type frosting…maybe next time!

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins
1 can (15 oz.) solid-packed pumpkin (about
1 3/4 cups)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs

For the frosting:
14 oz. pure white chocolate, finely chopped
12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature, cut
into tablespoon-size pieces
12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room
temperature, cut into tablespoon-size pieces

Food coloring
Colored sugars and decorating pens



Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line three 12-cup muffin tins with decorative cupcake papers.

To make the cupcakes, in a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Toss the walnuts and raisins with the flour mixture. (This will help prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin tins.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition.

Add the flour mixture in three additions, stirring with a large wooden spoon until just combined.

Fill the muffin tins about three-fourths full. Bake until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the tins to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the tins and let cool completely.

To make the frosting, in a double boiler, melt the white chocolate, stirring constantly, until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Let stand until just warm to the touch. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until smooth and blended. Add the melted chocolate and beat again until smooth. Use the frosting immediately, coloring it as desired. Spread 1 to 2 Tbs. frosting over each cupcake and decorate with colored sugars and decorating pens. Makes 36 cupcakes.