Herein lies the recipe for my Pumpkin Cupcakes.
My pumpkin cupcakes have my caramel icing and I suggest making the caramel first, since it needs to cool before you mix in in with the butter and powdered sugar to complete the icing. So, it's boil/make the caramel part, then make the cupcakes, then finish the icing. That timing seems to work out pretty good for this recipe.
Salted Caramel Icing
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tbs water
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsp Vanilla extract
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 tsp fine salt
2 cups powdered sugar (you can always add more to make it sweeter or adjust the consistency)
(you can add in cream cheese and up the powdered sugar if you want to make it creamier and less of a buttercream)
1. briefly stir together granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue cooking, without stirring, until mixture turns a rich amber color. It will boil quickly at first, then as the moisture burns off, the boil will slow.
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tbs water
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsp Vanilla extract
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 tsp fine salt
2 cups powdered sugar (you can always add more to make it sweeter or adjust the consistency)
(you can add in cream cheese and up the powdered sugar if you want to make it creamier and less of a buttercream)
1. briefly stir together granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue cooking, without stirring, until mixture turns a rich amber color. It will boil quickly at first, then as the moisture burns off, the boil will slow.
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You can see the progression of the sugar caramelizing. The last one is just about there. If you boil it too long, it will burn. That slow boil will speed back up and you will smell it. So, don't let it boil too long. At the above amounts the time should be about 8-10, maybe up to 12 minutes of boiling.
2. When it reaches a nice amber color, remove from the heat and add in the cream and vanilla, stirring with a wooden spoon as you add.
* special note - if you don't get it added evenly the first time, that's fine. Adding in the cream can cause a solid lump of caramel to form in the mixture and it won't evenly mix in. If this happens you can put it back on the heat and simmer it into submission by keeping stirring until it mostly dissolves and takes on that signature caramel color. If you live in Florida, or anyplace with higher humidity, making the caramel gets harder in the summer and is easier in the winter. So, if the mixing goes awry and you make a lump of caramel candy in the milky mixture, just heat it into submission, you can fix it, I have faith in you.
*Also - at this point I recommend skipping ahead and making the cupcakes then coming back to this part once the above prepared caramel has cooled to at least room temperature.
ok, you've made the cupcakes, your house/apartment/castle now smells amazing, time to finish the icing!
3. Combine butter and salt in a bowl and beat on med-high speed until it is light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add in powdered sugar. (it is at this point that I get powdered sugar all over my kitchen, even on my chihuahua, I'm not even kidding. No matter how careful, it. gets. everywhere. So, good luck.)
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the caramel and then beat on med-high speed until thoroughly mixed. You'll probably need to refrigerate for 30-45 min so that it's solid enough to ice the cupcakes, but hey, it's your icing, YOU DO WHAT YOU WANT!
This batch will cover about 24 cupcakes.
or you could just eat it with a spoon.
2. When it reaches a nice amber color, remove from the heat and add in the cream and vanilla, stirring with a wooden spoon as you add.
* special note - if you don't get it added evenly the first time, that's fine. Adding in the cream can cause a solid lump of caramel to form in the mixture and it won't evenly mix in. If this happens you can put it back on the heat and simmer it into submission by keeping stirring until it mostly dissolves and takes on that signature caramel color. If you live in Florida, or anyplace with higher humidity, making the caramel gets harder in the summer and is easier in the winter. So, if the mixing goes awry and you make a lump of caramel candy in the milky mixture, just heat it into submission, you can fix it, I have faith in you.
*Also - at this point I recommend skipping ahead and making the cupcakes then coming back to this part once the above prepared caramel has cooled to at least room temperature.
ok, you've made the cupcakes, your house/apartment/castle now smells amazing, time to finish the icing!
3. Combine butter and salt in a bowl and beat on med-high speed until it is light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add in powdered sugar. (it is at this point that I get powdered sugar all over my kitchen, even on my chihuahua, I'm not even kidding. No matter how careful, it. gets. everywhere. So, good luck.)
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the caramel and then beat on med-high speed until thoroughly mixed. You'll probably need to refrigerate for 30-45 min so that it's solid enough to ice the cupcakes, but hey, it's your icing, YOU DO WHAT YOU WANT!
This batch will cover about 24 cupcakes.
or you could just eat it with a spoon.
OK, on to the cupcakes!
I needed to make a double batch for a party and made over 50 cupcakes. I've adjusted the recipe down, so I'm not sure the exact amount of cupcakes this'll make, but at least 24.
Pumpkin Cupcakes
1 box Duncan Hines Spice Cake mix
1 box Jello Butterscotch instant pudding mix
1/2 can pumpkin
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
1 tsp pumpkin pie mix (You can always add more cinnamon or nutmeg if you want to up the kick of the spices.)
1 tsp vanilla
1. preheat oven to 350F.
2. mix all above ingredients together. (The mix should be thick.)
I needed to make a double batch for a party and made over 50 cupcakes. I've adjusted the recipe down, so I'm not sure the exact amount of cupcakes this'll make, but at least 24.
Pumpkin Cupcakes
1 box Duncan Hines Spice Cake mix
1 box Jello Butterscotch instant pudding mix
1/2 can pumpkin
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
1 tsp pumpkin pie mix (You can always add more cinnamon or nutmeg if you want to up the kick of the spices.)
1 tsp vanilla
1. preheat oven to 350F.
2. mix all above ingredients together. (The mix should be thick.)
3. Fill cupcake cups to your desired amount. I use a heaping tablespoon.
4. Bake for 18 min.
As your cupcakes cool, go ahead and finish up making the icing. Make sure the cupcakes have cooled completely before icing them, or the icing will melt off of them. I may or may not know that from experience.
And that's it. Enjoy!
4. Bake for 18 min.
As your cupcakes cool, go ahead and finish up making the icing. Make sure the cupcakes have cooled completely before icing them, or the icing will melt off of them. I may or may not know that from experience.
And that's it. Enjoy!
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