Autumn Cupcakes

I am planning a large amount of Christmasy recipes for the next two months, so I thought I should do one more Autumn themed one.
I bought a set of owl themed cupcake decorations a couple of weeks ago and have been longing to use them, I know I wanted to make pumpkin cupcakes before Fall was completely over, so I thought I would kill two birds with one stone.

Can we take a moment to look at how adorable these are? Just look at the swirl! I actually spent time and effort to decorate these and I may be slightly proud of them.

Cupcakes:

1 Cup flour

1 Teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg

1 Teaspoon baking powder

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon

15oz (one small can)  Pumpkin Puree

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar, packed

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

2 Eggs

In a large bowl mix together flour, spices, baking powder, and baking soda.
in a medium sized bowl whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugar, vegetable oil and eggs.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix together at a medium speed for about a minute, so its all combine but not over mixed.
Line muffin tin with whatever liners you have on hand.
Fill muffin cup 2/3 full.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until a tooth pick comes out clean.
Let the cupcakes cool completely before decorating.

Frosting:

8oz Cream Cheese

1/2 Cup Butter

1/2 Cup Shortening

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

4-6 Cups Powdered Sugar

In a large mixing bowl mix together the butter and shortening, add the cream cheese and vanilla, mix until well combined.
Slowly add the powdered sugar, and mix it in a little at a time( try not to over beat it because it can get a little gummy)
If it isn't a good texture for the kind of decorating you have in mind you can add a little milk or more powdered sugar depending on what you need.

I had so much fun making these! The cake its self was a little different then I was expecting, less pumpkiny and more like a spice cake, but it was still really yummy.
What is your favorite Autumn treat?
Am I the only one who thinks these owls are adorable?
Anna.

Pumpkin Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy Autumn!
I have been super excited for fall to get here and have been craving all things pumpkin.

one of my favorite pumpkin desserts is a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting, my first favorite of course being a classic pumpkin pie.
In my personal opinion you can't have a pumpkin cake without cream cheese frosting, so I add my favorite recipe to go with this yummy cake.
Pumpkin tends to take over our lives this time of year, and no it isn't just me. I will try not to let it take over here. (no promises!) Here in New England it doesn't really feel like Fall yet its been in the mid 80s for the last couple of week, I have been really looking forward to breaking out my Fall wardrobe so hoping it get feeling Autumny here soon.

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Cream Cheese Frosting

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 350f

Grease a 9x13 baking pan.

In a large bowl mix together the eggs, the sugar, the pumpkin puree and the vegetable oil and vanilla.

In a medium sized bowl sift together all the dry ingredients, and mix until the spices are evenly spread throughout the flour.

Combine the flour mixture with the pumpkin mixture, mixing at a medium speed until they are completely combined. (try not to over mix)

Pour the cake batter into the baking dish.

Place the cake into the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a tooth pick comes out with just one or two crumbs on it.

Let the cake cool completely before frosting.

Frosting

in a medium sized bowl mix together the cream cheese and the butter, it is very important they are both softened or the frosting will be a bit lumpy.
Add the vanilla and almond extracts to the cream cheese and mix until well combined.
Slowly add the powdered sugar, you may need more powdered sugar to get the right consistency.
Once you have the frosting done and the cake is cooled. Now you can frost the cake.
Place the frosting on top of the pumpkin cake, and spread it out evenly.
Sprinkle some nutmeg over the  frosting to finish off the cake.

This cake is so nice and moist, I really couldn't ask for a better one. I found that this is best the second day,or even the third, if there is still some left.
Just so you know the frosting is very sweet, I love sweet things and this was almost to much for me(almost).
What is your favorite thing about Autumn?
Anna.