Pumpkin Cupcakes with Chai Buttercream

It is only week 2 of the term and I am about 3 posts behind on the blog. Spring term is supposed to be mellow and sunny! I'll get caught up this week hopefully. The busy term hasn't kept me from baking, though (duh). Anyways... I digress. After spring break, I came back to Oregon with nothing but pickles and beer in my refrigerator, neither of which are good cupcake ingredients. Well beer might be (see Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes), but I was in the mood for something else. I decided to make this baking endeavor a little challenge. If I couldn't get the ingredients either out of my kitchen or from the 7-11 down the street, I couldn't use the ingredient in the recipe. After rummaging around in my pantry, I came across a can of pumpkin puree from my "OH MY GOSH I CAN'T GET ENOUGH PUMPKIN, I'M OBSESSED WITH PUMPKIN" phase this fall. So I made pumpkin cupcakes. Yes, I realize it is totally the wrong season for them but in my defense, I successfully completed my challenge and it was rainy outside (duh) so it might have just been fall anyways. And let me tell you, they were divine with a cup of black tea with honey and a splash of milk (my new drink of choice, after coffee (duh)). I also brought my good camera back to school after leaving it at home over Christmas. So hopefully my picture quality will be a little better. My equipment is better at least, but I'm hoping I also got the photography eye gene that seems to run in the family. So far, it hasn't quite established itself yet.

Just Garrett and his cupcake.

PUMPKIN CAKE: 

1 1/2 cup flour

1 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

A few shakes of cinnamon

2 eggs

1 stick butter

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

A splash of vanilla

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup milk

Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and blend until incorporated. Mix in the vanilla and pumpkin. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture, alternating with additions of milk. Blend until fully incorporated. Divide among lined muffin tins and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Let cool completely before icing.

CHAI BUTTERCREAM:

1 1/2 sticks butter (room temperature)

3 cups powdered sugar

Splash of vanilla

A couple shakes of cinnamon

About 1/4 cup chai concentrate (I used oregon chai. This is too taste and also too consistency. The more chai, the more runny the buttercream will be)

Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar until incorporated. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, and the chai and blend until light and fluffy. If the frosting gets too runny, add some powdered sugar. Spoon or pipe onto completely cooled cupcakes.

Just trying to find my photography eye with some artsy shots

So these cupcakes were pretty good! I like dense cupcakes but these were just a little too dense. The pumpkin was a little hard to incorporate into the batter so I think I over mixed a little, so the cupcakes got pretty thick. Taste wise, they were quite yummy and I will definitely have to make these when its actually fall and not just seasonally confused. (Oregon, IT'S SPRING RIGHT NOW).

Wishing you lots of sunshine and spring weather!

xoxo,

KG