Pumpkin Cupcakes

The Move!

Wow, right? It's almost too hard to pick a move from this video because they are all soooooooo good.  And if you don't know the running man by now, well, you should.  Look it up.

The Beats!

This playlist is taken directly from my playlist made in 2008 for the 80's Jazzercise party.  I'll spare you a play-by-play of the night and pictures of the spandex, but I will not spare you the totally sick beats.  What is there not to like about 80's music?  What, you don't wear your sunglasses at night?  Your number isn't 867-5309?  Doesn't matter.  Just make sure you look like a champ when you're rockin' out.  Which brings me to a quick story (don't worry, I promised to skip a full play-by-play): Among the crowd of people that showed up to the party was someone I didn't know (not unusual).  He was dressed in sparkly celestial black spandex tights with a light turquoise belly tanktop (I will refer to him as Belly Tank from now on).  Oh and a sweatband around his head of course.  Belly Tank decided to lead the party in a team stretch so no one would pull a hammie doing the sprinkler.  And at that moment, mankind came together, sharing the same goal - a pre-Jazzercise stretch.  Limbered up, we all got back to dancing and drinking and talking way too loud.  I still don't know Belly Tank's name (clearly) but I've always appreciated this strangers concern for the well-being of everyone there.  So, (I kept that pretty short right?) inspired by Belly Tank, I recommend you put on some spandex, strrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeetch, and then bust a move.

The Treats!

As a pre-party to the 80's jazzercise party we hosted a cut-throat brownie bake-off.  Four contestants resulted in about 100 brownies which we then served by walking through the crowd with an enormous tray raised overhead, yelling over Salt 'n Peppas "Push It" that people need to help judge the competition by trying a brownie between their beers and dancing.  I should admit, I lost the bake off ... which is why this won't be a brownie recipe and will instead be a pumpkin cupcake recipe. This is one of my favorites and I usually try to make as many batches as possible between early October and late November. I guess I've spared you by waiting until October has passed, but do make sure to try these out before Pumpkin season is over.

Pumpkin Cupcakes              

From Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

Makes 12

What you'll need ...

Cupcake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
scant 3/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 cup whole milk
2 eggs
6 1/2 oz. canned pumpkin puree


Frosting:
2 1/3 cups confectioners sugar
3 Tablesoons unsalted butter, room temp
4 oz. cream cheese, cold

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a freestanding electric mixer.  Beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined.








Gradually pour in the milk and beat until well mixed. Add the eggs to the mix and beat well (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula).  Stir in the pumpkin puree by hand until evenly dispersed.





Spoon the batter into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until light golden and the cake bounces back when touched.  Let the cupcakes cool slightly in the pan before turning out to cool completely.






For the frosting: Beat the confectioners sugar and butter together in a freestanding mixer on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.  Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until it is completely incorporated.  Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed.  Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes.  Do not overbeat, as it can quickly become runny. When the cupcakes are cold, spoon cream cheese frosting on top and finish with a light sprinkling of cinnamon.