Pumpkin Spiced Latte Cupcakes

As a millennial, there was of course no way I could let September go by without doing at least one pumpkin spiced recipe. This recipe is one of my favourite ways to bake – I find elements from different places, put them together and see how they work. These cupcakes were quite the hit, and I know this because Sophie described them as her perfect cupcake – a hint of coffee, some spiced flavour and a healthy amount of frosting on top! This was the perfect week to make them too because we debuted our gorgeous new autumnal window and these fit right in with the cosy theme. A perfect pick me up for a chilly autumn day.

I took the sponge recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction, which is my favourite food blog. I would say to half the recipe if you only want to make 12 cupcakes as the recipe was designed for a sheet pan cake. I made the whole batch and had enough left to make a small sheet pan cake as well.

For the ganache I took the recipe from the Finch Bakery book and added some coffee. I used the delicious Etive Mhor blend from our friends at Mhor Coffee.

This is a course ground coffee, so I infused it with the cream as it was heating then strained it through a sieve. If you want to use this method   then make sure you have a very fine sieve.  Alternatively you could use a teaspoon of instant  coffee and dissolve it in the cream as it heats. You can add more coffee if you want a really strong flavour, or simply leave it out if you are not a coffee fan!

The frosting was Cream Cheese Frosting from Chelsweets, another fab baking blog. I chose this one because I wanted a pipeable cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

For the cake
125g all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
120ml canola or vegetable oil
2 large eggs
100g packed light or dark brown sugar
50g granulated sugar
1/2 can pumpkin puree
3/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the ganache
200g double cream
400g white chocolate
1 dessert spoon ground coffee or 1tsp instant coffee

For the cream cheese frosting
340g unsalted butter, room temperature
110g full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
900g powdered sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1 Tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (Fan). Line a 12 hole cupcake tin with paper cases.

Start by making the cupcakes. Whisk together all the dry ingredients apart from the sugar. Mix together the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix together until fully combined. Split the batter between the 12 cupcake cases.

Bake for 20 minutes – check after 15 minutes. The cakes are ready when a knife or cake tester comes out clean.

While the cakes are cooling start on the ganache. Chop the chocolate very finely and put in a large bowl. Put the cream and coffee in a pan and gently heat until almost boiling but don’t let it boil. If you are using ground coffee, then strain the cream over the chocolate through a very fine mesh sieve. If you are using instant coffee then stir as it heats to ensure its all dissolved and pour over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is fully melted. Leave to cool slightly before filling the cupcakes.

To fill the cakes, use a piping nozzle to scoop out the middle of the sponge and put the little circle of cake aside. Pop the cooled ganache in a piping bag and snip off the end. Fill the holes you have made in the cakes with as much ganache as you can squeeze in then top off with the circle of cake you put aside. Don’t worry if its not level as the frosting will cover it anyway.

To make the frosting beat the butter and cream cheese together with a hand held mixer or in a stand mixer for 1-2 minutes until pale and smooth. Add the salt and vanilla and mix to incorporate. Add the icing sugar one cup at a time and mix slowly until fully incorporated. Add a splash of cream between each addition of icing sugar. Beat until thick and smooth. Use your favourite nozzle (I used the Finch Bakery 1E) to pipe rosettes or whatever you feel like on the top of the cakes. Dust with a small amount of cinnamon to finish and enjoy!

Sara x