Mini Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Mini Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

This recipe was taken from Cupcake Project and I noted the changes I made when baking.

The Pumpkin Pie Filling RecipeI modified this recipe slightly from the original, because I didn't have sweetened condensed milk at home.

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (I used the Libby's Easy Pumpkin Pie mix in a can, which is basically puree with the spices pre-added)
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (Here I substituted 1/3C of Evaporated Milk)
  
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (instead of adding more spices I just added 1 teaspoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (left out)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (left out)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I did still add this)
• 2 egg whites

In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks. Stir in 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into pumpkin mixture.

Pie Crust Recipe

Here is the recipe from Kitchen Parade with Cupcake Project modifications, and my own:

• 18 T ice water (This was where the Kitchen Parade recipe said 2-4 T)
• 2 c flour
• 2 t sugar
• 1 t salt
• 2 sticks (1 c) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Stir together 1 cup of flour, sugar, and salt. With hand-held pastry blender, cut 1/2 of the butter into the four until butter is dime-sized. (I cut the pieces into tiny cubes of butter.) Add the rest of the butter the same way. Lightly stir in the remaining flour. Add water one T at a time until the dough just sticks together. (I also used 18 T of water) Wrap in plastic wrap and stick in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

The Streusel Topping Recipe

• 2 T all-purpose flour
• 1/4 c packed brown sugar
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 2 T butter, chilled
• 1 c chopped walnuts (I left the nuts out)

In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Blend in the cold butter with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly. Mix in the chopped nuts. This made almost twice as much as topping as I needed. Unless you want a ton of topping, you might consider cutting this in half.

Putting Your Mini Pies Together

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. You will not be baking at this temperature. However, you want to make your oven nice and hot. Line 2 cupcake tins with cupcake liners. I made about 30 cup-pies with this recipe. I baked the 24 and then the extra six. If you have 3 tins at the ready you can do it all at once. Also, I expect the number you will get to vary depending on the intricacies of dough thickness and pumpkin pie filling height.

(I only have one cupcake tin, so I did 12 at a time and just spent all morning baking!)

Remove half of the dough from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Use a 3 1/2 inch diameter circle cookie cutter to cut the dough into circles. If you don't have a cookie cutter that width, see if you have a glass you can use or you can experiment with different widths. Press the center of your circle into the bottom of a cupcake liner and work the rest into the bottom of the liner and up the sides. It should come about 3/4 of the way up the side. I experimented with different heights and found this to be the most pleasing to me, but higher or lower won't destroy anything. Repeat the same procedure with the other half of the dough.

(I used the bottom of a wine glass as my cookie cutter and it worked fine. As with anytime you are dealing with dough, make sure to have lots of flour available. If you're having trouble rolling things out, more flour! Put it on the surface you're rolling on, the rolling pin, the dough, and your hands. If things get too sticky, add more flour!)

Pour the pumpkin pie filling into the pie dough cups. Each cup should be slightly more than halfway full.

Lower the oven temp to 375. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the streusel topping over each cup-pie. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the pie is set (doesn't wiggle around when you touch it.)

The Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting Swirl

I topped each cup-pie with a small swirl of vanilla bean buttercream frosting. (You can use any buttercream frosting recipe that you're comfortable with)

I made a maple buttercream, and just substituted maple syrup for the vanilla bean paste.

**also feel free to serve these with a mini-scoop of vanilla ice cream!**

Rogue Dead Guy, Mexican Cheese, and Bacon Cupcakes

Rogue Dead Guy, Mexican Cheese and Bacon Cupcake Recipe

This recipe is basically the same as the one found here: Beer Cheese Cupcakes
Yield: About 24 cupcakes (the original recipe yielded 18)

• 1 cup beer (I used Rogue's Dead Guy Ale because it was what I had in the fridge that I was willing to part with for baking, not drinking, purposes.)
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 cup grated cheddar (I probably should have bought some really sharp real block of cheddar, but I had some pre-shredded Mexican cheddar mix in a bag leftover from a taco potluck so I just used that)
• 2 cups dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sour cream (I didn't measure this very accurately, so I have a feeling I was closer to 1 cup)
  
• 2 eggs
• 1 tb vanilla extract (I didn't have enough left in my bottle, so it was about 1/2 the recommended amount)
  
• 2 cups flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking soda

1. Heat beer and butter in a large saucepan on medium-high heat until butter is melted.
2. Add cheddar.
3. Remove from heat, and whisk in the sugar.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla.
5. Mix the sour cream mixture into the beer mixture.
6. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda.
7. Fold flour mixture into the batter.
8. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 fill.
9. Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes, or until inserted cake tester comes out clean.

Bacon Cheddar Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

• 8oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar (I ended up only using about 3 cups, I liked the consistency and it wasn't too sweet, still pretty cheddary at this point)
  
• 3/4 cup grated cheddar
• 1 cup bacon bits (I made my own by cooking it in the microwave and cutting it into pieces. I only had 3 strips of bacon left in my fridge, so it wasn't a whole cup. More like 1/2 cup. It was also maple flavored bacon.)

1. Beat cream cheese and butter until creamy.
2. Add grated cheddar.
3. Slowly mix in powdered sugar.
4. Stir in bacon bits.
5. Frost and enjoy!

I usually pipe my frosting onto the cupcakes, but with the chunks of cheese and bacon, I just used a knife instead.
Ryan's response: Pretty kick-ass cupcake. I think that's pretty good. He said pretty much you taste a lot of cheddar, unless you take a bacon-bite!
I thought they were an interesting (in a good way) cupcake. Maybe not my favorite since I'm a chocolate-lover, but definitely a great cupcake if you're in the mood for something not so sweet, and a great combination of flavors!

Wedding Cupcake Trial #1: Wine and Cheese Cupcakes

Welcome.

Pinot Noir and Goat Cheese Brie Cupcake

I've been baking cupcakes for quite awhile now, but now I have a real reason to document what I bake throughout my trials. I'm getting married!! And it's my intent to bake my own 100 cupcakes and giant cupcake (for us to cut during the reception). This might be a lofty ambitious goal, but with the help of my lovely bridal party, and some extreme organizational skills on my part, I think it will be a great way to save money and share my love of cupcakes and baking with my wedding guests.The first trial is a recipe I am trying from Cupcake Project, and it can be found here: Wine and Cheese Cupcakes and the Chocolate Wine Ganache.

Yield: 21 cupcakes (the original recipe said 16, so who knows?)

• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 C salted butter, room temperature (the original recipe calls for unsalted, but salted was what happened to be in the fridge)
  
• 4 oz Goat Milk Brie (the original recipe called for Camembert, but Trader Joe's was lacking in the cheese selection, so I substituted, the package was actually 4.4oz, but by the time I removed the rind I figured it was 4)
  
• 1 3/4 C sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 C dry red wine (The original recipe used a Shiraz, but I happened to have a Pinot Noir that's been sitting around at home forever and used this instead. You will use about half a bottle of wine.)
• 1/2 C walnut halves (originally the recipe had 1C, but I'm not that huge a walnut fan so I cut it in half)

1. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
   
2. In another medium-sized bowl, beat the butter, cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. (I would beat the butter for 2-3 min, then add the cheese, then the sugar, not all at once)
3. Mix in the eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated.
4. Mix in the vanilla.
5. Alternately mix the dry ingredients and the red wine into the butter mixture until just combined. (I started and ended with dry ingredients)
   
6. Fold in the walnuts.
7. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
8. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until cupcakes bounce back when lightly touched.

Red Wine Chocolate Ganache Recipe

This recipe should make enough to easily frost 12 cupcakes.

• 2 oz dark chocolate, chopped into a few pieces
• 1/2 C unsalted butter
• 2 oz red wine (I used the same Pinot Noir that I used for the cupcakes)

1. Place the chocolate and the butter in a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Microwave for 10 seconds and then remove and stir.
3. Repeat step 2 until the chocolate is all melted.
4. Slowly pour in the wine and mix thoroughly.
5. Place in the refrigerator until it hardens enough to easily spread (about 10 minutes).
6. Spread on cupcakes.

My ganache didn't set in the fridge like I had hoped, so I upped the chocolate to 3oz, and put it in the freezer.

This is what happens when you leave it too long in the freezer...


I think the ganache will look better if I don't accidentally freeze it first!

Overall here is our rating:
Moist
Light
Easy to Peel off Wrapper
Better than a Regular Chocolate Cupcake
Cupcake doesn't have much wine taste
Ganache has a noticeable wine taste
Ryan would probably like a cream cheese chocolate frosting or a buttercream frosting more. The ganache was too strong for his liking, although I loved the flavor.