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Tuesday, December 2, 2008

IronCupcake_005: Pumpkin Pecan Cupcakes... 2 Ways!

Iron Cupcake:Earth
Theme: Chocolate with a Twist
My 2nd entry: Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Cupcakes w/ Chocolate Glaze
Voting begins: Monday, December 29 at 8 pm Central @ http://mkecupcakequeen.blogspot.com and will be open through Friday, January 2 at 12 noon Central.

We had a VERY close call in the poll this week! Pumpkin Pecan Cupcakes pulled ahead of German Chocolate Cupcakes at the last minute with 2 more votes. YYAAYY!! I knew I could integrate chocolate into this somehow and use it as another Iron Cupcake entry. After those pumpkin-swirl brownies, I'm a tried and true pumpkin+chocolate fan. I made 6 of the cupcakes just the way they are in the book. Then to the rest of the batter I added some mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. I topped the regular ones with cinnamon cream cheese. On top of the chocolate chip cupcakes I used the same chocolate glaze from my first ICE_005 entry, chocolate mayonnaise cupcakes, but I added a pinch of cinnamon to it this time! To make them extra fancy I dipped some pecans in melted sugar. Then I dipped some of those in semi-sweet chocolate. These cupcakes are so so so good! The cinnamon in the chocolate glaze is such a tasty addition! And the crunchy pecans in the cupcake are a very nice texture compliment. I can't believe how easy this months IC challenge has been so far. Expect a few more entries out of me! :P
Measuring the dry ingredients Dry ingredients... meet wet ingredients!
Ready for the oven
Candied pecans... Mmmm!
Cupcakes cooling in the kitchen
On the left: Pumpkin Pecan Cupcakes w/ Cinnamon Cream Cheese
On the right: Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Cupcakes w/ Chocolate Glaze
Cupcake recipe adapted from Cupcakes by Shelly Kaldunski
Pumpkin Pecan Cupcakes
MAKES 12 CUPCAKES

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground allspice
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
Maple Glaze (This was nasty and I threw it away! I won't even include the recipe.)


Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg. In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, and eggs. Add the flour mixture and whisk to combine completely. Stir in the chopped pecans. (I added 1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips to half of the batter).

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-fourths full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 22-24 minutes (Mine were done at 19 minutes). Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour.
Spoon the glaze over the cupcakes and serve. {The glazed cupcakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days; bring to room temperature before serving.}

Chocolate Cinnamon Glaze
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of cinnamon

In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla and cinnamon. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Spread glaze over top of cupcakes.


Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 5
Frosting: 5


Prizes provided by Etsy artists:
BETTY TURBO
A pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES
Also, IronCupcake:Earth is excited to welcome back
CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice!
As an added bonus for December we have adorable cupcake pincushions compliments of SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY.
Corporate prize providers:
HEAD CHEFS by
FIESTA PRODUCTS
HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
JESSIE STEELE APRONS
CUPCAKE COURIER
TASTE OF HOME books
Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by
1-800-Flowers

4 comments:

deanna said...

Please clear up this mystery for me about foil wrappers. Are you baking the cupcakes in the paper wrappers that come in between the foil wrappers, and then placing them in the foil wrappers after they are done for effect? I thought foil wrappers were meant for a place to put extra batter cause they stand on their own and don't need a pan. Can they be put in a pan? Thanks in advance, I am a new baker!

deanna said...

OK thanks! That helps me alot! :)

CB said...

Way to twofer it! I am all about the twofers myself. HAHA. Pumpkin pecan cupcakes. YUM!
/Clara

Christine said...

Such perfect cupcakes, and a nice finishing touch with the candied pecans. Cinnamon with chocolate is always a great combination!