Pumpkin Pecan Pie Cupcakes with a Tall Crown

Pumpkin Pecan Pie Cupcakes with a Tall Crown keeps the shopping list focused on all-purpose flour, baking powder, and cinnamon slightly rounded. It serves 14 cupcakes.

Count on 20 minutes of prep, 18 minutes of cooking, about 38 minutes from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

For the Cupcakes

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon slightly rounded
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ginger
• ⅛ teaspoon mace
• ⅛ teaspoon cloves
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup light brown sugar packed
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter melted*
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie mix
• ⅔ cup buttermilk

For the Crumble

• ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup light brown sugar packed
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup toasted pecans chopped

For the Pecan Pie Filling

• 1 egg
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar packed
• 1 tablespoon salted butter melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup chopped pecans

For the Bourbon Brown Sugar Frosting

• ½ cup unsalted butter cold
• 8 ounces cream cheese not whipped, not light, and the best you can find
• 1 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
• 2 teaspoons Bourbon to taste
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

How the cooking goes

Make the Crumble

1. Mix the vanilla into the melted butter. Add all the remaining ingredients and stir with a fork until all the ingredients are equally moistened. They should hold together and then break into crumbles when squeezed in your hand. If it is still too dry you can add melted butter 1 teaspoon at a time, but be careful not to make it too moist or it will be greasy and not crunchy/soft like it should be.
2. Also note that if you chop your pecans too big, they will impede the crumbles from forming.

Make the Cupcakes

1. Warm the oven to 350° and line 14 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners. You use two standard paper liners per cupcake.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and all spices; keep it to one side.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat sugars and melted butter together with a hand mixer until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the vanilla after the last egg.
4. Add the pumpkin and mix on medium until the texture looks smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds.
5. Alternately add flour and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. You add a third of the flour then half of the buttermilk and repeat. Fold the last flour addition in by hand to avoid over mixing.
6. Portion into prepared tins, filling almost to the top of the cup. Add some crumble to the top of each cupcake. Bake in preheated oven 16-20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out with a few clinging crumbs. Mine took 18 minutes.
7. Remove immediately from muffin tins to cool until it is no longer warm on a wire rack.

Make the Pecan Pie Filling

1. Stir all pecan pie filling ingredients together and cook in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Heat it until it boils and allow to boil for a minute. Take it off the heat and cool. If you continue to cook the filling, it will continue to thicken up. You got distracted and so mine boiled about 3 minutes before you took it off the heat.

Make the Frosting

1. Cream together cream cheese, butter and brown sugar until the texture looks smooth and creamy.
2. Put the bourbon until the seasoning suits the pot and then add the powdered sugar and cornstarch, mixing well with a hand mixer. To further thicken the frosting, add more powdered sugar. This will obviously alter the taste if you add a lot more sugar. You can also refrigerate the frosting to thicken it a little as well. You did not refrigerate nor did you add any additional powdered sugar to mine before you piped it.

Assemble the Cupcakes

1. Once cupcakes are cool, cut a hole in the center of each cupcake with a pairing knife. Remove the cut-away piece and cut the bottom off, leaving some cake and the crumble; eat the cut off cake for quality control; place a dollop of the pecan pie filling in the center of each cake; and replace the crumble coated center piece, pressing down slightly. The centers will be slightly elevated, but this doesn’t matter because you are going to frost them!
2. Frost with your favorite piping tip! There will be more frosting than you need for all the cupcakes. This kitchen is sure you’ll figure out something to do with the remaining ⅓ cup!

After it comes off the heat

Let the pan settle before you slice, so the crumb stays together. Cover leftovers once they are cool.

If you want another plate from Cupcakes, open St Patrick’s Day Cupcakes with a Tall Crown and Strawberry Cupcakes with a Tall Crown.