Recipe Swap

Cupcakes:

2 C sugar

4 eggs

1 C milk

3/4 C browned butter*

2 C roasted pumpkin puree** (if you use canned pumpkin instead, you may need to adjust your flour-- fresh pumpkin contains more water than canned)

1 t Mexican vanilla

3 1/2 C all-purpose flour

2 1/4 tsp baking powder

Frosting:

5 oz good quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

8 T butter, at room temperature

3 C powdered sugar

2 T baking cocoa

1 t Mexican vanilla

1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 t cayenne pepper

4-8 T milk

*To brown butter:

Heat pan on medium heat.

Cut butter in to pieces and melt in pan.

Stir continuously. Butter will foam up.

After foam subsides, small brown flecks will start to appear in bottom of pan.

Continue stirring, until butter has reached a nice brown color, and nutty aroma.

Turn the heat all the way down.

**To roast pumpkin ( smaller pie pumpkins or "sugar pumpkins" are the perfect size for roasting!)

Halve and clean pumpkin (save those seeds to roast with some olive oil and salt!)

Slice pumpkin into sixths

Brush with olive oil

Roast at 450° for 45min to 1 hour, depending on size of pumpkin (roast until fork tender)

Scrape insides from peel, and puree.

Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare cupcake pans with liners.

Beat sugar and eggs together until slightly thickened, about a minute.

Add milk, browned butter, pumpkin puree, and vanilla, stirring just until combined.

Add flour and baking powder, beating until just combined. Do not overmix.

Bake for 18-22 minutes, until tops are springy to the touch or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from pan and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

Melt chocolate in a double boiler and allow to cool to room temperature.

Beat in butter until creamy.

Add powdered sugar, baking cocoa, cinnamon and vanilla.

Slowly beat in milk 1 T at a time until you reach desired consistency.

Yield: 36 cupcakes