Pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

I made these cupcakes bite-size. Something about mini ghost cupcakes, just make them all the more cuter. I piped a cream cheese frosting (out of a pastry bag) in the form of a ghost body, then added two dots with black frosting for the eyes. The edibility factor went up by dipping them into melted chocolate before frosting them. Licking my lips as I’m writing this.

After baking the cupcakes, let them cool completely before dipping them into melted chocolate.

Dip the tops into melted chocolate before hiding it with a cream cheese frosted ghost body.

Alternatively, you can make these really into pumpkin cupcakes by frosting them like you normally would, then dipping them into orange colored sugar and plopping a pumpkin candy corn smack into the middle. Both versions are equally cute and Halloween-y.

Pumpkin topped pumpkin cupcakes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh pureed pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pumpkin spice
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup of butter (one stick, softened)
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate top

• 1/2 cup milk chocolate
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions-you can make these in a mini cupcake pan or regular cupcake pan

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift all the dry ingredients together (except for the sugar). Using a mixer, combine sugar, eggs, vanilla and butter until smooth. Blend in pumpkin until well incorporated. Next, fold in dry ingredients until combined. Mix in coconut. Spoon batter into paper-lined cupcake pan. Fill each cupcake holder 3/4 full. Bake for 15 minutes if using a mini cupcake pan. Or, bake 25-30 minutes if using regular size cupcake pan. Cool completely. Meanwhile begin to melt 1/2 cup of chocolate over a medium heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Dip in cooled cupcakes face down, just covering the tops with chocolate. Let chocolate cool completely (about 15 minutes) before piping cream cheese frosting on top. Decorate with black frosting eyes (I used store-bought black frosting in a tube), or even mini chocolate chips would work for this as well.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 package of cream cheese (8 ounce package)
• 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
• 3 cups powdered sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting Directions

In a mixer, combine butter and cream cheese and mix on a medium speed until smooth and creamy (about 3 minutes). Gradually add powdered sugar a half cup at a time. Beat frosting on medium-high until smooth and creamy for 3 more minutes. Spoon into a pastry piping bag with a large plain tip and pipe ghost bodies about 1 1/2 inches tall, creating a larger base that gradually gets narrow going up forming a tip.