The cold front also marked the first bonfire of the year. Yep, we have bonfires in South Florida. Our friends Katy and Paola have a giant backyard, complete with fire pit, and as soon as the weather cools off, we light that puppy up like the Fourth of July.
Whenever we have bonfires, I always bring cupcakes. Partly because they're an easy party food to make and take, partly because Paola always goes googly-eyed for whatever cupcake I happen to bring.
In honor of fall finally hitting in SoFLa, I figured it was only appropo to concoct some cupcakes that screamed, well, fall. Nothing screams fall like pumpkin.
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing
1 box spice cake mix
1 box instant butterscotch pudding mix (powder - do not mix up as pudding)
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp rum extract/flavoring
1 can pureed pumpkin
3 eggs
1 1/2 canisters cream cheese icing
1 tsp cinnamon
Pumpkin pie spice for sprinkling
* if you don't feel like buying pumpkin pie spice, you can mix it at home - equal parts cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger.
Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to temperature recommended on cake mix box.
2.) In a large bowl, sift together cake mix, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and butterscotch pudding powder. Add eggs, oil, water, rum extract, vanilla extract and pumpkin and blend with hand mixer for two minutes.
3.) Portion batter into lined cupcake pans, filling each lining 2/3 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes (or whatever the recommended back time on the cake box is), or until cupcake tops bounce back when pressed with a fingertip. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
4.) In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese icing and cinnamon; transfer to piping bag. Pipe icing on top of each cooled cupcake and sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
One word. MEGANOMNOMS.
WANT. That is all.
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