Ingredients
Pumpkin Cupcakes
- 175 g self raising four
- 175 g light brown sugar
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- zest of 1/2 orange
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- 100 g unsalted butter (melted)
- 1 tbsp fresh orange juice
- 100 g sultanas or chopped walnuts (or 50g of each)
- 250 g pumpkin or butternut squash (grated)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 150 g unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 150 g icing sugar
- 300 g full fat cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 180ºc/160ºc fan, and line a muffin tray with large cupcake cases or muffin cases!
- Prep your pumpkin (or butternut squash) by peeling the vegetable, scraping out the seeds & stringy bits and then grating the flesh (like you would for a carrot cake), and squeeze the grated pumpkin with a towel so that a lot of the moisture comes out of the pumpkin - it releases a lot of water when baking and this will make it bake weirdly if you don't squeeze some of it out!
- In a large bowl, mix together the self raising flour, light brown sugar, mixed spice, bicarbonate of soda, sea salt, and orange zest!
- In a separate bowl, quickly whisk together the eggs, melted unsalted butter, and fresh orange juice.
- Pour this into the dry mix and fold together until combined well.
- Add in the sultanas and/or chopped walnuts, and then the grated pumpkin (or butternut squash) and mix so its all even - try not to overmix!
- Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases (I use a cookie scoop to make it even) and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes (check at 22-25 minutes with a skewer and if it comes out clean they're done - just like a cake!). Leave to cool fully on the side.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat the unsalted butter for a couple of minutes so its really supple and smooth - add the icing sugar and beat in
- Add the cream cheese and vanilla extract, and briefly beat together until combined
- Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes using a large star of French piping tip and add pumpkin sprinkles
Notes
- You can use a regular buttercream for the topping if you wish - but I find the cream cheese flavour works really well with the pumpkin/squash flavour.
- If you are not a fan of pumpkin, then the butternut squash will work out perfectly - the two are really interchangeable with each other so baking wise it doesn't make any difference - but it is VERY important to squeeze out any excess water before baking otherwise the sponge might not bake or will take a very long time!
- Be careful when making the cream cheese frosting that you don't beat it too quickly, otherwise you will over mix it and the mixture might split or be runny - don't whisk it too quick!
- These cupcakes will last in the fridge for 3 days, remove 30 minutes before eating so they're the perfect temperature, or you can freeze them for up to 3 months!
- I use this 2D Closed Star Piping Tip
- I use this piping bag
- I use this Muffin Tin
- I use these cupcake cases