Walnut and Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Brown Sugar Mascarpone

  I meant to post this yesterday as a gourdish (rather than ghoulish) halloween offering. My plan was to write it up while the kids were out trick-or-treating with my husband. But he got called to theatre, and so I huffed and puffed, donned my scary outfit* and went out prowling the neighbourhood.
I landed up fretfully dragging my 4-year old around while I tried to keep up with my 6-year old and the older children. I didn't want to loose track of a black-clad child in the descending darkness. Frightful!

*a poncho raincoat. But by the end of it, thanks to the persistent drizzle, bedraggled hair and smeared mascara, no-one would have guessed that it wasn't a genuine dress-up costume ; )

Walnut and Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Mascarpone Icing

Walnut and Pumpkin Cupcakes
Recipe by Tea, Cake and Create

Preheat the oven to 180'C
Line 2 x12-hole muffin trays with cupcake cases.

500ml (2cups) pumpkin purée**
275g brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
375g flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp salt
100g roasted walnuts, roughly chopped.

**roast the pumpkin with a little butter and brown sugar; puree once cooked. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the oil, sugar and pumpkin purée
Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well between additions.

Sift the dry ingredients together, and add to the pumpkin mixture.
 Mix until just incorporated.
Fold in the chopped roasted walnuts.

Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake cases and bake at 180'C for approx 20min, or until a cake-tester comes out clean.

Remove from the cupcake trays to cool.

Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Mascarpone Icing

250g mascarpone
250ml (1 cup) whipping cream
100g (1/2 cup) brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Chill the mixing bowl and whipping attachment for 30 minutes before proceeding.

Place all the ingredients into the chilled mixing bowl and beat until a stiff, piping consistency is reached.


 Pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.

Happy...um...November!

xxM