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Pumpkin Turtle Cupcakes

cupcakes from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

  • 1 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • teaspoon ground allspice
  • ½ cup packed light-brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 2 large eggs lightly beaten
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree

For the whipped cream cheese frosting:

  • 4 ounces cream cheese softened
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • ¾ cup heavy cream

For the caramel sauce:

  • ½ cup of sugar
  • 3 tablespoon butter
  • ¼ cup heavy whipping cream

For the candied pecans:

  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon honey
  • ½ teaspoon water
  • ¾ cup pecan halves

Instructions

To make the cupcakes:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 cupcake cups with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
  3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

To make the whipped cream cheese frosting:

  1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar salt and vanilla until smooth. In a small bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into the cream cheese mixture.

To make the caramel sauce:

  1. Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on.
  2. As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.
  3. Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note than when you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably.
  4. Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature.

To make the candied pecans:

  1. Warm brown sugar with honey and water in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Stir in pecans, tossing to coat, then transfer to a lightly oiled 4-sided sheet pan.
  2. Bake, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and shiny, about 15 minutes. Transfer pecans with a metal spatula to a rack to cool.