Spiced Butternut Squash Cupcakes - Recipe 43 -

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Spiced Butternut Squash Cupcakes
-Recipe-
Spiced cupcakes made with butternut squash and flavored with butter rum.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
  • 3/4 cups butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 teaspoon LorAnn oils, butter rum flavor
  • 2 cups butternut squash puree
  • 2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk (or buttermilk replacement, see below)
  • 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (or 1/2 of each)
For the frosting
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 8 oz. mascarpone cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
For the cupcakes
  1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
  2. In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
  3. Then add the eggs, squash, and butter rum. Mix until well blended.
  4. In a large bowl, combine the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  5. Add a third of the flour mixture at a time to the squash mixture, alternately with the buttermilk, mixing well in between and scraping down the sides of the bowl.
  6. Lastly, add the nuts and mix until fully incorporated.
  7. Pour mixture into greased or lined muffin tins, about 3/4 full for each well.
  8. Place muffin tins in oven and bake on 350ºF for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
  9. Then take out of oven and place on cooling rack.
For the frosting
  1. With stand mixer on medium speed (with whisk attachment), whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form (be careful not to over beat, or cream will be grainy).
  2. In a small bowl, stir together mascarpone, cinnamon, and confectioners' sugar until smooth.
  3. Gently fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated.
  4. Using a spatula, or a cake decorating bag with your favorite tip (I used Ateco #827), frost each cupcake.
  5. Serve immediately or keep refrigerated until ready to eat. Enjoy!
Notes
  1. As a substitute for buttermilk, I used 1 tablespoon vinegar (white or rice) plus enough milk to equal 1 cup.