Fall Recipes: Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

About a year ago I discovered the website Bake It in a Cake. It is a cupcake-lover’s dream come true.

My favorite recipe from the site is a cream cheese cupcake with a mini pumpkin pie in the middle and cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

BakeItinaCake.com...mine do not look this fancy

It may as well be called “Mandy’s Dream Dessert”

It is also perfect for this time of year. And they are so gosh darn cute.

Behold my terrible frosting abilities

I can’t lie though, these little guys are time-consuming. But it’s all worth it when someone says “These are the best cupcakes in the world!”

Here is the recipe, and be sure to check out Bake It in a Cake for more fun cupcake creations.

For the pumpkin pies you’ll need:

1 batch of your favorite pie crust dough (Don’t have a favorite? Use pre-made refrigerated dough, it will work well too.)

1 15 oz. can pumpkin pie filling, prepared according to the can’s
directions (or you can make your pie filling from scratch, you
overachiever, you—either way, you’ll need enough for one pie).

For the cupcakes you’ll need:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

3 eggs

2 t. vanilla

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 1/3 c. whole milk

2 1/2 c. flour

For the buttercream you’ll need:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

2 c. powdered sugar

1 c. Hershey’s cinnamon chips (or any cinnamon chips you like)

splash of whole milk

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees (F).

First, prepare the pumpkin pies. Mix up the pumpkin pie mix according
to the can’s directions (or make your own-fancy!). Roll out the pie
crust dough and cut it into small circles that are large enough to cover
the bottom and sides of mini cupcake tins (I used the opening of a
small juice glass as a cutter).

Press the dough into the lightly greased mini cupcake tins, and then
fill them with the pumpkin pie mix. (Don’t go all the way to the top,
the filling will expand a little while baking.)

Bake the pies for about 7 minutes at 425 degrees (F), and then turn the
oven down to 350 degrees (F) and bake them for another 10 minutes or
so, until the crust is brown and the filling is completely set.

After taking them out of the oven, cool them on a wire rack for about
10 minutes, then take them out of the pan and allow them to cool
further while you mix up the batter.

For the cupcake batter, combine the butter and the cream cheese
together on medium speed for about 90 seconds—you want the ingredients
to be well incorporated. Then mix in the sugar until the mixture is
fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla, baking soda,
baking powder, and salt. Then mix in the milk and the flour,
alternating between the two ingredients. Scrape down the sides and
bottom of the bowl, to make sure everything is getting well-mixed—beat
again on med-high speed for about a minute. It should be smooth and
creamy.

Spoon a heaping tablespoon of batter into regular-sized, paper-lined
cupcake tins. Plop a cooled pumpkin pie into the center, and press
gently into the batter. GENTLY. You don’t want it to touch to the bottom
of the pan.

Cover the pies with another heaping tablespoon of batter, so the top and sides are completely covered.

Bake at 350 degrees (F) for about 25 minutes, until the cake is set and
the edges and tops of the cupcakes have turned golden brown.

Allow them to cool in the cupcake tray for atleast 10 minutes before
moving to a wire rack—they’ll be a little fragile at first.

Once the cakes are cool, frost ‘em!

To make the buttercream, melt down the cinnamon chips with a splash of
whole milk. Pop ‘em in the microwave for about 45 seconds on high. Stir
until all the chips are melted, and allow it to cool a bit while you
whip up the rest of the frosting (you can put the bowl in the fridge,
it’ll cool faster that way, and the milk will keep it from
solidifying).

Cream together the butter and cream cheese until they’re well
incorporated. Then whip in the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, until
the mixture is smooth and creamy. With the mixer on low, drizzle in the
cooled cinnamon chip “ganache” (if it’s too hot it’ll melt the
buttercream and ruin it—you don’t want that). Put in about half, then
stop to taste it and decide if you’d like to add more. Some like it
strong, others like it milder.

If you have any pie crust left over, roll it out and cut smaller discs
and sprinkle them with a little bit of cinnamon and sugar. Bake ‘em
for about 10 minutes at 350 and look at that, a cute and tasty cupcake
topper!

You can also try candied pecans or a drizzle of caramel on top. Tasty!