Pumpkin Spice Cupcake with Maple Buttercream Frosting

I just got some new neighbors across the street.  I'm horrible at starting conversations with people, especially people I don't know so...I bring food.  It's a good ice breaker.

Since it's October, I thought pumpkin cupcakes would be a great treat for them. I stumbled across this recipe from javacupcake.com that I've followed for a while.  Her recipe includes a maple cream cheese frosting but I'm not the biggest fan of cream cheese icing.  It's a bit rich for me so I made mine a buttercream frosting instead.

It's lighter and not as sweet but adds just the right amount  to the pumpkin spice flavor of the cupcakes.  These cakes are so moist and delicious.  We My new neighbor will love them!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream Frosting

Printable version
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Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin puree, not pie filling
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
½ cup vegetable oil
Maple buttercream frosting (see below)

1.  Preheat oven to 350˚.  Line muffin tin with cupcake liners (12).
2.  In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a larger bowl or mixer, combine the eggs, pumpkin, granulated sugar,brown sugar, and vegetable oil and whisk together.  Gradually add theflour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until combine.
3.  Divide the batter into the cupcake liners.  Fillabout 2/3 full.
4.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cupcake springs back tothe touch.  Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
5.  Using a piping bag and a tip (I use Wilton 1M Star tip),frost the tops of the cupcakes with maple frosting.  Top with a pumpkin shaped candy. 

Maple Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ tsp maple flavored extract
½ tsp vanilla extract
2-3 Tbsp milk 

In your mixing bowl, slowly mix together the butter, sugar and maple and vanilla extracts.  Gradually add milk as your mixer is combining ingredients until frosting is at the consistency you want.

Cinnamony, pumpkiny goodness topped with a bit of maple sugary flavor.  Simply delicious!