Cardamom-Cinammon Pumpkin Cupcakes- Sunday Sweets

Published on September 20 2010 by Iheartcooking

I was thinking this morning about transformation and cooking. Such a humble, commonplace term for such a magical process! Okay, maybe not so much magick as much as alchemy- the changing of base materials into gold. I am fascinated by the way that many humble ingredients can be transformed into culinary gold in so many different ways ! My very first Sunday Sweet is a perfect example.. a humble piece of pumpkin turns into light, moist pumpkin cupcakes, spiced with cinammon and ginger, and topped with a cardamom frosting.

A sweet old man sold me this pumpkin at my local market on Sunday morning. I peeled and cut up the rest and put it in the freezer for another meal or two but I wanted to use up at least some on the same day since it was so fresh and beautiful!

Cardamom-Cinammon Pumpkin Cupcakes

Makes 12 regular sized cupcakes or 30 mini cupcakes

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour pumpkin cupcakes

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinammon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

2 large eggs

1 cup white granulated sugar

1/2 cup melted unsalted butter, cooled

1 cup pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp good vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place paper cupcake liners in cupcake tins, or spray tins with non-stick cooking spray.
Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl.
Whisk eggs lightly, add sugar and melted butter, stirring to combine.
Mix in pumpkin, water and vanilla.
Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture in 2 parts, stirring gently to combine.
Mix only until ingredients are just combined, don't overmix.
Pour into paper-lined cupcake pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 18-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Cool completely then frost with cardamom buttercream frosting.

Cardamom Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups icing sugar, sifted

1 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp cinammon

evaporated milk

With a mixer on low speed beat softened butter, gradually adding icing sugar.
When all the sugar has been added, increase mixer speed to high and beat until light and fluffy (about 1 minute).
Add about 2 tbsp milk and spices to butter and icing sugar and continue whipping. You may need to add more milk if mixture is too thick and heavy.

Cardamom-Cinammon Pumpkin Cupcakes