These spicy pumpkin cupcakes are moist and delicious, and they pair well with silky smooth white-chocolate Swiss buttercream.
Spicy pumpkin cupcakes are easy to make. Other than canned pumpkin, most of the other ingredients are pantry staples and can be baked all year long, not just for an autumn treat. The spices are cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and a dash of cardamom.
I tried these out on my High school students and they LOVED them. Apparently, pumpkin and white chocolate are a match made in heaven, and the Swiss meringue buttercream is silky smooth and everything I’d hoped it would be. One of my students asked me to make these very same cupcakes for his birthday.
These would make a delicious Thanksgiving or Christmas treat.
For best results:
- Don’t overfill the cupcake cups. I use PaperChef parchment large baking cups
Pumpkin cupcakes
Perfect combination of spicy, moist cupcake with silky smooth buttercream
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cupcakes
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 6 large egg whites
- 2 cups white sugar
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 8 ounces white chocolate, chopped, melted, and cooled*
Instructions
Pumpkin cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare cupcake tins with 24 cupcake liners.
- Sift flour, then add baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add brown sugar and white sugar and mix well.
- Combine oil, eggs, pumpkin puree, and vanilla.
- Pour pumpkin mixture into dry ingredients and beat three minutes on medium speed until all ingredients are incorporated and the batter is smooth.
- Pour into cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 full.
- Bake about 15 minutes until toothpick comes out clean
White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Put egg whites and white sugar in a heat-proof bowl and whisk until combined.
- Place the bowl with the egg whites and over a pan with simmering water, or double boiler, and whisk constantly until the mixture is no longer grainy to the touch and reaches 160° F. on a candy thermometer. It takes about 15 minutes.
- Once the meringue has reached 160° F. beat the mixture, preferably with a whisk, until it has cooled and the bowl is cool to the touch, about 5-10 minutes. Begin adding butter, a chunk at a time until all the butter has been added. If the meringue has not cooled sufficiently, the buttercream will become soupy. Add melted, cooled white chocolate. If buttercream is soupy, put in the refrigerator for 20 minutes then beat again. The buttercream will be smooth and perfect for piping.
Notes
*You can melt the white chocolate in the microwave. First heat for 30 seconds, and stir. If it isn't melted, heat for another 30 seconds and stir. Don't over heat or chocolate will seize.
