Pumpkin Cupcakes: Take Two - Brown Butter Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Pecan Frosting

Okay...so, after my first pumpkin cupcake experiment I was craving a more...mapley flavor, if we remember. I came across this recipe (which I think is the recipe I originally found, then lost, made the other cupcakes, then found again and here we are), and just had to try it.

This may be the quintessential pumpkin cupcake...perhaps one of the most delicious cupcakes I have put in my mouth. As we know, I like cupcakes, so there have been many a cupcake eaten by me. Now, I did make some tweaks to the original recipe which are reflected in my recipe below.

Brown Butter Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Pecan Frosting

Active time (cupcakes): about 15 minutes / (frosting): about 25 minutes
Cooking time: about 20 minutes
Yields: 18 regular sized cupcakes

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• Dash of ground ginger
• Dash of freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line muffin tins with paper liners. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat 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.
   
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
   
3. In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, both sugars, eggs, and brown-butter mixture. Add the flour mixture, and whisk until just combined.
4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.
   
5. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
6. Frost with Maple Pecan Frosting.

Frosting

• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar (plus more)
  
• 1/2 cup pecans toasted and finely chopped
• 18 pecan halves, toasted

1. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring maple syrup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, swirling pan occasionally, until reduced by about a third, 10-12 minutes. Pour into a glass measuring cup nested in a bowl of ice water and stir constantly until syrup is very thick and barely warm to touch, 3-4 minutes. Remove from ice water.
   
2. In a bowl, with a mixer on low, beat cream cheese and butter until well blended. Beat in powdered sugar (adjust the amount of sugar to reach your desired consistency); add chopped pecans and mix until well blended; scrape in reduced syrup; beat until smooth.
3. Frost cupcakes and decorate with a pecan half.

These are an amazingly complex, decadent cupcake. They'd be perfect with a cup of tea, coffee or some nice sipping whiskey. Aside from the browning of the butter they are extremely easy.

Enjoy!!