A few nights ago, my friend Kate C. won an "Iron Cupcake" competition with a recipe for Chocolate Pumpkin Ale Cupcakes with Spiced Caramel Icing. This, my friends, is not that recipe. But I was inspired by her recipe - and a tete-a-tete with Ellen of I Am Gluten-Free - to go and play with some *totally* in-season pumpkin puree. Since the idea to play with pumpkin came to me an hour before Ellen and I were to meet, I didn't have any time to look up a tried and true recipe, not even my own. Using ratios I had played with before, I put together a chocolate chip pumpkin cupcake that is full of whole grains, unprocessed sweeteners (honey, maple, rapadura), and is kept moist by a generous helping of pumpkin. I used canned organic pumpkin, but feel free to substitute your own roasted or steamed pumpkin puree. It will taste just as wonderful.
A note: this cupcake tastes best if it is slightly - oh so slightly - underdone. Not wet on top, but just set. Before it cools completely, top it with the maple glaze. It locks in the moisture and you'll love these cupcakes just as much on the second day as the first.
Cake & Commerce's Almost Virtuous Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Yield: 18 Cupcakes
Mix together dry Ingredients:
- 3/4 C Light Buckwheat Flour
- 1/2 C Sweet Brown Rice Flour
- 1/4 C Teff Flour
- 1/4 C Tapioca Flour
- 1/4 C Millet Flour
- 1/4 C Cocoa Powder (non-alkalized)
- 3/4 C Rapadura (or organic sugar)
- 1 t Baking Powder
- 1/2 t Baking Soda
- 1/2 t Salt
Separately combine:
- 1/2 C Cold Water
- 1.5 Cups Pureed Pumpkin (or 15 oz Can)
- 1/2 C Grape Seed or Sunflower Oil
- 1/4 C Maple Syrup, Grade B
- 2 T Vanilla Extract
- 1 T Raw Local Honey (or Raw Honey, or, for strict vegans, Agave Syrup or Rice Syrup)
- 1 t Lemon Juice
In the bowl of a stand mixer add the wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes.
To the mixture, add
- 1 C chocolate chips (or nuts...or nothing).
Bake in 350 F degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until well-risen and firm to the touch.
Allow to cool so it is just barely warm to the touch. Once cool, ice with your favorite icing or use....
Maple Glaze
- 1/4 C Maple Syrup
- 1 C Confectioner's Sugar
- 1/4 t Salt
- 1/4 t Lemon Juice
- 1/4 t Vanilla Extract
Combine All ingredients together and mix until uniform. Dip tops of cupcakes into glaze and allow to drip off. When topping is set, it will be shiny. Serve.
Keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Freeze before icing.
