Pumpkin Cupcakes

Pumpkin Cupcakes are  perfect for your Halloween or autumn gathering.  For the chocolate cupcake I used Cook's Illustrated's recipe which is super easy to make and comes together by hand in one bowl.  My favorite Swiss meringue buttercream was piped on top of each cupcake to create the pumpkin effect.   

Cook's Illustrated Ultimate Chocolate Cupcake

 

Swiss Meringue Buttercream 

 

5 large egg whites (~150g)

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 lb unsalted butter cut in to pieces, at room temperature

 

Place sugar, egg whites and salt in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, and whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. Test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers; it should feel completely smooth.

Transfer bowl to mixer stand. Using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until mixture has cooled completely and formed stiff and glossy peaks, about 10 minutes.

Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated after each addition. Don't worry if the buttercream appears curdled after all the butter has been added; it will become smooth again with continued beating. Add vanilla extract, and beat just until combined.

 

Decorating Tips

Pumpkin Body: Ateco 862

Pumpkin Stem: Ateco 19

Leaf:  Ateco 352

Vine: Ateco 2

Pumpkin Smash Cake

 

My friends' daughter Charlie is turning 1 on October 31 and they asked me to make a smash cake for her birthday party.  (Smash cakes, a smaller cake just for the birthday child, are quite popular in the US.) The only request from the parents when it came to the cake was for one without eggs due to Charlie's food allergy.  "No problem," I said.  A quick search on the internet and I found this recipe for Chocolate Depression Cake, which came about during the Great Depression when staples such as eggs and butter were scarce.

Since Charlie is a Halloween baby I wanted to make a Pumpkin Smash Cake for her.  The cake recipe makes one small bundt cake (6-cup capacity) so I made it twice to get the shape I was after.  I had my doubts about the cake's taste, but I shouldn't have been concerned.  The chocolate cake was moist and tender and you could not tell it was missing eggs.  I will definitely use this recipe in the future.

 

When it came to decorating the smash cake I used an American style buttercream that was made with butter, heavy cream, vanilla extract, salt and powdered sugar.  Swiss meringue buttercream, my favorite frosting, wasn't an option since it's made with egg whites.  

 

Assembling the cake couldn't be simpler and requires no advanced skills.  You just sandwich the two bundt cakes together with some of the frosting and then coat the outside with orange colored buttercream.   To make the stem I mixed cake scraps with buttercream, similar to how you would make cake pops, and shaped the mixture into the stem.  

I hope Charlie enjoys her smash cake on her first birthday.  Happy Birthday Cha Cha!

Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

I had some extra dough leftover from a recent cookie order so I made pumpkin shaped cookies to celebrate autumn and Halloween.   Now that I look at them they may not be so botanically correct with the green leaf and vines but they still taste good!

Happy Halloween to all the little goblins, ghosts and witches out there!

Candy Corn Cupcakes and a Halloween Giveaway

If ever there was a king of Halloween candy it's got to be candy corn.  Love them or hate them they've been around since the 19th century and I think they're here to stay.   

Candy corn may not be my personal favorite, they were normally the last things to be eaten from my trick-or-treat loot bag, but I think I've reinterpreted them in a fun way with these cupcakes.  How great would these be for kids or kids at heart to make?   

To make my life easy I used a mix for the cake.  Don't judge!  I grew up on them and look how I turned out...lol!   

Now to the Halloween giveaway.....

The nice people at McCormick sent me their "Tricks for your Treats" kit to sample.  And the best part is I was able to procure another kit to give away to one of my blog readers.  If you love Halloween baking this is right up your alley!  

Here are just some of the things included in the kit: food colors, cupcake liners, a silicone baking mat, an oven mitt and a Le Creuset silicone spatula.

To enter, just answer the following question in the Comments section of this post by 12pm PST Monday October 17th.  The winner will be chosen randomly and announced on October 18th.  

What's your favorite Halloween candy?

RULES: Only one entry per person and you must leave your email address in the comment.   In addition McCormick's cannot ship to P.O. Boxes so be sure you have a physical mailing address in the US.