Pumpkin Cupcakes

This recepie is perfect for autumn! What I love about this season is everything with pumpkin and carrots which bring up that beautiful orange colour! This cupcakes are perfekt for afternoon coffee and tea with friends! They have a little spice and they are very luscious because of the real pumpkin in it!

INGREDIENTS:

For the MUFFIN dough:

80g butter (or for lower calorie cupcakes 40g curd cheese and 35-40g oil/butter)

75g sugar, sweetener of choice (agave syrup or honey works as well)

2 large eggs

155g pumpkin puree (home made or in can but please use a 100% pumpkin puree)

40g walnuts (ground)

75g flour of choice (I used whole wheat)

8g baking powder

1/4 TSP baking soda

1 TSP cinnamon

1/2 TSP ginger

1/4 TSP nutmeg

1/4 TSP allspice (pimento)

1/4 TSP salt

optional: 40-50g chopped walnuts (place them on the bottom of your muffin ramekin before adding the dough)

For the TOPPING:

250g curd cheese (quark)

2 TBL butter

70g cream cheese

45-70g powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you like your cupcakes)

5-6 TSP san apart (or cream stiffener)

2 TSP lemon/orange zest (very important to get a freshness boost!)

For DECORATION:

some cinnamon or pumpkin spice or cacao powder

optional: about 100g of marzipan

20-30g powdered sugar

food colouring (yellow, red, green)

INTRODUCTIONS:

Mix butter and sugar until you get a creamy consistency (takes about 4 minutes with a mixing device). Add the eggs and mix for at least 2 minutes. Combine all dry ingredients. Add them into your butter mixture as well as the pumpkin puree and mix very short (just until everything is nice combined). Fill 12 muffin ramekins and bake them in your preheated oven for about 20 minutes, Let them cool completely before spritzing the topping on them.

Fort he topping mix curd cheese with butter, lemon zest and cream cheese until the ingredients are well combined and there are no lumps in the mixture. Add the cream stiffener (or san apart) and make sure the mixture thickens. Fill the topping in an icing bag and spritz it circular on top of your little cakes.

Decorate your cupcakes with some cinnamon and you can model some little pumkins by hand for a special look. Serve them just after finishing and ENJOY!

I hope you like the recepie!