OMG

Pumpkin Brown Butter Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting

I know that I sound like a teenager but that was the only thing that came to mind when I tasted the Pumpkin Brown Butter Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting that I made the other night.  They were, quite simply, beyond description.  Beyond, beyond, beyond.

The brown butter.

Mixing the cupcakes.

Ready for the oven.

One of my favorite baking blogs is Sprinkle Bakes.  The recipes are always so delicious sounding and the photographs so enticing.  The recipes just beg to be made.

The cinnamon frosting.

BTW (as long as we're speaking in code today), you may have noticed that lately I've been taking my own pictures.  You can tell that I'm taking them because they're not, shall we say, either particularly artistic or professional looking.  But, I'm working on it so bear with me please.

But back to the cupcakes.  The cupcakes were cupcake-y, not muffin-y.  Often cupcakes made from pumpkin or bananas (or zucchini or carrots, for that matter), taste more like muffins.  These do not.  They taste like cupcakes and the cinnamon frosting adds a whole other dimension and takes them completely over the top.

You have to try these.  To hell with the calories.  They're worth it and I promise you'll be saying OMG along with me.


Recipe:  Pumpkin Brown Butter Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting
(Sprinkle Bakes)
Yield:  About 25 cupcakes

For the Cake:

3/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake tins with papers.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Cook, swirling the pan occasionally until the butter turns golden brown. Pour the browned butter into a small bowl and let stand until cool but not solidified.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt and allspice.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk 1 ½ cups of pumpkin puree with the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and sour cream until well combined.  Stir in the flour mixture until just combined.  Whisk in the browned butter until well blended.

Divide batter between cupcake liners.  Fill them about half full.

Bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes, or until they spring back when pressed in the middle.


Cinnamon Frosting:


1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon

In a medium saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add the milk and heavy cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened, about 20 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter; beat until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and cinnamon and continue mixing until combined. If the frosting is too soft, transfer the bowl to the refrigerator to chill slightly, and then beat again until it is the proper consistency. If the frosting is too firm, place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and beat with a wooden spoon until it is the proper consistency.