We will be trying our hand at CUPCAKERY

Many things inspire us on a daily basis, sometimes its a piece of broken colorful Mexican tile, sometimes its a letter, sometimes its reading a strangers blog. For me sometimes its cooking and baking. 


We plan on diving deep into the cupcake world; discovering variations of the classics and trying new uncharted territories. 


Our first attempt was a success and devoured by co-workers at Chris' job today. 

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

These moist pumpkin cupcakes can be tailored to your family's preferences. For a more grown-up version, substitute chopped crystallized ginger and dried cranberries for the walnuts and raisins.

Unfrosted cupcakes will stay fresh in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Once frosted, cupcakes are best eaten within 1 day.

Ingredients:

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

Directions:

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. 

For the Frosting:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature
• 8 oz of Philly cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
• 2 - 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions:

1 Cream the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.

2 Add the vanilla extract to the mix.

3 Add the powdered sugar, continually taste to get to desired sweetness. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

Tell us what kind of cupcakes your family loves? Any special recipes? We are on the look out for tried and true recipes.