Pumpkin Cupcakes with Ginger Frosting

I was itching to make a confection out of pumpkin (time of the season, you know). I randomly grabbed this pumpkin cupcake recipe off the internet. It's a pretty good recipe. More like pumpkin bread or pumpkin pound cake than like regular cake. It's a bit denser, but quite tasty. I chose a ginger frosting as opposed to a more popular cheesecake frosting... and I still wonder if the ginger frosting overpowered the pumpkin flavor of the cupcake... regardless, I couldn't stop licking the frosting bowl. Everyone loved these cupcakes and wanted more. I might make another batch soon... I'll probably use the ginger frosting recipe again... but I def would try a plain cream cheese frosting recipe too. oh and sorry for the not so decadent looking picture. I was too anxious to just cram the thing in my mouth to worry about taking a decent picture of it.

Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sift before measuring
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten until frothy
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans ( left these out because I didn't want to bother buying them)
  

Instructions:

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a bowl. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs. Blend in mashed pumpkin. Stir in the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the milk, blending until batter is smooth after each addition; stir in chopped walnuts or pecans. Spoon batter into well-greased and floured or paper-lined muffin pan cups.

Fill about 2/3 full. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Makes about 20 cupcakes...
Ginger Frosting (this recipe made a bit more than there were cupcakes to frost... so beware)

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• about 3 cups of powdered sugar (sifted)
• 1-2 T fresh grated ginger
• 1/2-3/4 tsp ground ginger

Beat it all together.