Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

 Looking for the perfect yummy fall treat to bake up for the Halloween carnival cake walk or just a scrumptious treat to have waiting on the table when your kids/hubby come home? Well, if you have been craving pumpkin spice lately, you have GOT to try these!  I got the recipe when I attended Parties that Cook last fall when I was in San Fransisco with my good friends at eHow.  Anyways, I love these and so does my family....too bad I don't get to eat the YUMMY cream cheese buttercream frosting this time around...now that I'm dairy free! (it's soooo hard sometimes!!!! but not worth having a fussy baby for the next 48 hours)

 Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cupcakes:
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups canola oil
1 15oz can of pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon allspice
1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting:
1 stick butter
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350°F: Position rack in the center of the oven.
Cake Batter: Cream together granulated sugar, oil, pumpkin and eggs until well mixed, about 2 minutes.  In a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and salt.  Add to the wet ingredients and mix until combined and smooth, about 30 seconds (but don’t over mix).

Bake: Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.  Pour batter into the cupcake liners and bake for 15-20 minutes (or you can make it into a cake by pouring the batter into a greased 10x13 pan and baking for 35-45 minutes).  Cool completely on a cooling rack.

Buttercream: Beat butter and cream cheese on high speed for 2 minutes. Add sugar, vanilla and salt.  Mix until smooth. Frost each cupcake generously with frosting.  Serve.