- 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
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filing)
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
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.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, both sugars, eggs, and brown-butter mixture. Add the flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Frost with Maple Pecan Frosting. Makes 15 cupcakes.
Ingredients
(Maple Pecan Frosting)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup pecans toasted and finely chopped
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, about 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. In a bowl, with a mixer on low, beat cream cheese and butter until well blended. Beat in powdered sugar and scrape in reduced syrup. Beat until smooth. Stir in chopped pecans.
