I say it all the time baking in the fall and winter is the most fun for me, it warms up my always chilly kitchen, makes the house smell like a giant sweet cookie and gives me something fun and memorable to do with the ones I love most.

I love the tastes of fall and decided to test three different recipes from three famous Chefs to find the perfect seasonal cupcake. Bobby Flay’s gingerbread, the owner of Spinkles in California, Candace Nelson’s spice, and the head Chef of Dean & DeLuca in Manhattan, Scott Annand’s spice pumpkin.

Five pounds heavier and three days later, me and a few family taste testers picked a winner. One was a little too dry, one cooked with a crusty hard top and one came out pretty darn good. The spiced pumpkin by Scott Annand, was moist with a perfect combination of spice and pumpkin taste. Continue reading for recipe.

Here is the recipe if you would like to give it a try. Be careful when incorporating the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture. Over mixing will make your cupcakes a gummy, thick consistency. (Which is what happened to my first batch because I was not paying attention to what I was doing and let the mixer go too long, so I did it by hand the next batch success!)

Scott Annand’s
SPICED PUMPKIN CUPCAKES

Makes 14 cupcakes

3 oz. of unsalted butter
9 oz. granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs
8 oz. of canned pumpkin
1 fluid oz. light unsulfured molasses (I used dark it tasted fine)
2½ oz. of water
2 Tbls. of cinnamon
½ tsp. cloves
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
8½ oz. All purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder

  1. Center rack and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
  2. Cream butter and sugar with electric mixer on med. speed. Adjust speed to slow add eggs, then pumpkin. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula. Add molasses and water, mixing until everything is combined.
  3. Combine dry ingredients (cinnamon, cloves, salt, ginger, nutmeg, flour, baking soda, baking powder) and add them to the pumpkin mixture by hand until everything is incorporated. (Do not over-mix)
  4. Fill cupcake liners about ¾ full. Bake for 10 minutes rotate pan (always rotate your baked goods half way through the baking time). Cupcakes are done when the tops spring back when touched or when a toothpick in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
  5. Pipe icing on cooled cupcake. Have fun trying different frostings. What is your favorite? I loved these with a cream cheese frosting. I added some lemon juice and grated lemon rind, but the lemon rind I added was too much for some of my taste testers. Chef Annand adds ¾ cup of pumpkin to his Swiss buttercream recipe which is enough for the 14 cupcakes.