Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes

There are definitely things I've missed about DC since heading back to Texas:  the changing leaves, the Dupont Circle Farmers' Market, Dudley and Huckleberry, Rock Creek Park. One of the things I just love about being back in Texas (besides warm days in November -- woot!) is seeing friends and family on a more regular basis. I always hated being so far away for birthday celebrations and special occasions, and now I'm back in the thick of it. 

This past weekend was MawMaw's birthday, and I was so excited to celebrate with her. Unfortunately, I had to work on Friday (her actual birthday), but we celebrated with a birthday dinner on Sunday night instead. It was such a nice evening, and even though MawMaw isn't big on sweets (understatement), you can't have a birthday without a little something sweet, right? She love, love, loves Italian cream cake. So, why didn't I make one? I tried to once, and I made a recipe for Italian cream cake and the general consensus was that it was a very good cake but it wasn't Italian cream cake. Humph. The recipe said it was Italian cream cake, and many people online left comments raving about it; I'll try almost anything but I'm stymied as to the Italian cream cake that isn't really Italian cream cake. If anyone has a great vintage recipe for Italian cream cake please send it my way.

I know this much is true:  MawMaw might say she loves Italian Cream Cake, but her secret love is the cream cheese frosting. It's pumpkin season right now, and I thought these cupcakes were just too cute to pass up. I've had my eye on this page in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes forever, and it was just time. They were actually lovely and simple to make, and I had a good feeling about the flavor the moment I started sifting the dry ingredients together. I like my pumpkin sweets to be nice and spicy, and this recipe fits the bill. Oh, and the full recipe makes a whole lot of batter! I got 24 cupcakes and one 9" layer out of this recipe. The cupcakes are frosted as you see here, with the cream cheese frosting, and I frosted the layer with a powdered sugar cinnamon glaze. 

The cupcakes were an unmitigated success, and guess what else? The fates have aligned and yours truly has managed to snag dessert duty at the Thanksgiving celebration this year. Hell officially has a few icicles because I NEVER thought I'd see the day. To that end, I'm nearly certain this is a one-time snafu, and I'm determined to live it up while I can. If you know me, then you know pie isn't my thing. Thanksgiving dessert is about more than just pies, don't you think? But I still want to use traditional flavors. I'd thought about making these cupcakes for part of the Turkey Day dessert spread, but I'm starting to rethink. As far as I can discern, Thanksgiving desserts should include:  a pumpkin thingee, a nut (pecans here in Texas) thingee, an apple pie, and some sort of tart (as in sweet-sour, not tart pan) thingee. 

Here are the contenders -- feel free to weigh in with opinions, ok?

Pumpkin: 

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Marshmallow-Sour Cream Topping and Gingersnap Crust

(I made this the first winter I lived in DC and it exists in the archives of this blog)

Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing from Martha Stewart. I think cookies would be a great addition to the Thanksgiving table. Seriously, why do pies get all of the glory on Thanksgiving? Huh?

Pumpkin Strudel from Flo Braker's Baking For All Occasions (my latest cookbook obsession)

Pecan:

So, if you don't know me very well, then you might not know that the perfect pecan pie eludes me. I love pecan pie, but darn it if I haven't managed to mess up every single attempt at creating an excellent pecan pie. I always tend to get freaky and use recipes that call for molasses or bourbon and it's just not a great result. So . . .

Gingerbread Pecan Tart from  Baking For All Occasions sounds good (actually it sounds fantastic) but I worry that serving this along with the pumpkin cheesecake above (which is heavy in the lead for pumpkin dessert) strikes too much of a similar note on the table. I love ginger-ish things but I'm just not so sure about serving the two at once.

Mama's Pecan Pie from Bon Appétit Y'all by Virginia Willis. I loves me Virginia Willis, and if she can't tell me how to make a great pecan pie, I'm not sure anyone can. 

Except maybe it's time to just try the Karo Syrup recipe for pecan pie. I can't tell you how many people have told me it's the gold standard of pecan pies. 

And in the tart category . . .

Tangy Lemon Custard Tart with Pomegranate Gelée from Baking For All Occasions. I just love the idea of this tart at Thanksgiving because pomegranates and citrus are soooooo seasonal right now, and I think the acidity of those fruits is the perfect finish to the Thanksgiving meal. If I don't make this tart for Thanksgiving you can be sure I'm making it sometime in 2010.

Of course, the Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake is a serious contender. I loved this dessert and now that I've seen everyone else's version I'm hot to make it again. 

And Flo Braker comes through again with a recipe for Double Cranberry Mini Cakes Baking For All Occasions. I love cranberries . . . I want to see them on the dessert table this year. 

What do you think? Do any of these desserts jump out at you? This is the first year I've gotten to do things my way, but I'm always up for some expert advice, so do chime in with your thoughts. 

In the meantime, I'll leave you with the recipe for the pumpkin patch cupcakes. They're just adorable, I can definitely see myself making them again! 

Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes

Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
• 1 cup pecans
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 2 seven ounce packages almond paste
• Gel food color, orange, brown, and green
• Cream cheese frosting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin tins with paper liners. Grate pumpkin in a food processor or on the large holes of a box grater (you should have about 2 1/2 cups). Transfer to a medium bowl, and add pumpkin puree and pecans.
2. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves; pulse to combine. With machine running, add oil and eggs; process until smooth, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add pumpkin mixture; pulse to combine.
3. Spoon about 1/3 cup batter into each cupcake liner. Bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
4. Make the marzipan pumpkins: Tint two-thirds almond paste orange, adding food color a dab at a time until desired color is reached. Tint a quarter of remaining paste brown and the rest green. Shape into leaves, stems, and pumpkins (see instructions below).
5. Decorate cupcakes with frosting and marzipan pumpkins. Store in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days
6. Marzipan Pumpkin How-To: Using a small rolling pin, roll out green almond paste about 1/8 thick; use a leaf cutter to cut out leaf shapes. Roll brown into small ropes; cut and shape into stems. Using the palms of your hand, shape orange into three-quarter-inch globes. Use a toothpick to poke holes in tops of pumpkins and to press creases from top to bottom. Attach leaves and stems to tops with a bit of frosting.