Isn't the weather just perfect right now? Bright sun but the air has a delightful chill to it, it's starting to look a lot like Autumn finally. Right now, there is nothing more comforting than sitting home, pot of tea on the table with a hunk of lightly spiced cake and a good book. If, like me, you live in a house with few people you probably steer away from baking a huge cake unless you're expecting guests, this is where these cupcakes come in. If you don't want to eat them right away, no problem. Pop them in the freezer along with a bag of frosting and you have delicious cake every day for a fortnight!
These cupcakes take no time at all, no need to cream the fat and sugar together, no adding of milk and flour separately, just pop the ingredients into a bowl and mix. The most difficult part of making these cupcakes is browning the butter, which is just so super simple. Go for it!
Pumpkin and Brown Butter Cupcakes
(Adapted from Martha Stewarts Cupcakes)
Ingredients:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for tins
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for tins
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves, cut into chiffonade (optional)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
Method:
Preheat oven to 160C. Line a cupcake tin with some spooky liners. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the sage, if desired, and continue to cook, swirling occasionally, until butter turns golden brown. Skim foam from top, and remove from heat. Pour into a bowl to stop the cooking, leaving any burned sediment behind; let cool.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, both sugars, eggs, and brown-butter mixture. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
