Halloween Cupcakes

Halloween Cupcakes
Makes 12 Prep Time 20 minutes Cook Time 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cup flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp Gregg's Ground Cinnamon
  • ½ tsp Gregg's Ground Ginger
  • ¾ cup soft brown sugar
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • ¾ cup pumpkin puree (approx. 350g uncooked pumpkin)

  • Cream Cheese Frosting:
  • 125g spreadable cream cheese
  • 2 ½ - 3 cups icing sugar
  • ½ tsp orange zest
  • Dark chocolate bits

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C (fan assisted). Place paper cupcake cases into muffin tins. Alternatively grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
  2. Sift flour, baking soda, Gregg’s Ground Cinnamon and Gregg’s Ground Ginger into a mixing bowl.
  3. Whisk together brown sugar, vegetable oil, eggs and pumpkin puree until well combined. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in pumpkin mixture. Stir to mix. Spoon mixture into cupcake cases. Bake for 15-20 minutes until cooked and golden. Transfer to a baking rack to cool. Once cupcakes are cold, pipe cream cheese frosting onto the top of the cupcakes. Place 3 choc bits on the frosting to make the eyes and mouth.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

  1. Beat together cream cheese with 2 ½ cups of the measured icing sugar and orange zest until creamy. Add extra icing sugar if necessary to make a firm but piping consistency.

Tips

To make pumpkin puree: peel and cut pumpkin into small pieces. Steam or microwave pumpkin until tender. Steaming helps reduce the amounts of retained water that you get when boiling. Puree in a food processor or mash until smooth.