Autumn Pumpkin and Maple Cupcakes

Autumn baking is one of my favourites and as in recent years I've started eating pumpkin, I got very excited this autumn about trying out some recipes with it. The lovely Halee (here) inspired me with her mini pumpkin pies which I'm sure to try before the trees are bare. This is my second batch of pumpkin cupcakes and they are delicious. Lovely with a cup of tea, with friends and family. This lightly spiced pumpkin recipe with maple buttercream is so easy and quick to make, which is great if cakes disappear as fast as they do with a family like mine!

Ingredients

Cake

112g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

150g caster sugar

50g dark muscavado sugar

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
226g canned pumpkin purée
100ml sunflower oil
12 large cupcake cases or 24 grease proof paper squares measuring 12x12cm for muffin tin

Maple Buttercream

 125g soft butter
100ml maple syrup
300g icing sugar

 Leaves

100g Orange fondant icing.

Stamp leaf cutter ( this is the one I used)

Shell green dusting powder by EdAbleart

Method

Pre heat the oven to 160.C Fan or Gas mark 4

 Firstly sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Then in another bowl mix the pumpkin, eggs, both sugars and oil together. Then add the flour mix to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Add to cake cases, which need to be 3/4 full.  (If you've used the grease proof paper like I did you will need to layer one piece over the other with the second sheet having a corner at the top of the middle of the first.) Hold the cases in place while carefully adding the mix.  Cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool in the tins before removing them.

The buttercream icing is really easy to make. Simply add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until smooth and fluffy.

You might want to make the leaves the night before so they can set. Give the icing a quick knead and then on a clean worktop dusted with icing sugar roll out the icing until it is about 1/4cm thick. Then cut out the leaves, you will need 24. I scrunch up some tin foil and let my leaves rest on there which gives them a more realistic shape. When they are set you can use a small brush to dust with the green powder.

Add the buttercream to an icing bag using a large star nozzel and pipe onto the cupcakes. Top with the leaves and enjoy!

Emma Xx