Surprise! It's a Pumpkin Pie........

inside a cupcake!!!


Yes, you read that correctly! I took on the tedious task of baking this masterpiece. I baked pumpkin pies in to cupcakes!!!

There has to be some good reason why I decided, the day after Christmas, to tackle such a thing, right???

Yes.

There is.

My good friend, Lauren, has a birthday coming up and these are for her! She LOVES pumpkin pie.....ok, that is an understatement.....she LOVES pumpkin pie.......ok, that is better! :) Lauren loves it so much that she would eat a whole pie by herself in one day and not think twice about it. As a birthday gift to her, I didn't want to make her a pumpkin pie though. Too boring........

One day, many months ago, I came across this freakingly awesome website, Bake It In A Cake. I saw that they had baked mini pumpkin pies into cupcakes!!!! WTF!?!?! How was that possible!?!?! Well, I snatched the recipe and have been waiting to make them ever since.

See, these cupcakes aren't something you bake up as a "just because" cake.....they have to have a special reason to be made.

When I found out Lauren's love for the pie, I knew these would be spectacular and blow her away! She is so animated, so I can't wait to see the look on her face (or the voicemail I will receive) after she bites into one of these!


Pumpkin Pie {in a} Cupcake
(as adapted from Bake It In A Cake)

Omg....look at that!!!!! In case you need an anatomy lesson of what is going on here, I put this together for you:

This is no easy task.....oh no it's not. It takes a lot of work, but every second is worth it in the end, I promise you that!!!!

INGREDIENTS:
*There are a lot of ingredients that go into this masterpiece, so bare with me! I am going to list them in sections for you! :)

Crust:
You can use a store bought crust or any crust recipe you may have and love. If you do not have one, here is my favorite one! :)

Pumpkin Mix for Pie:
(as adapted from Libby's)

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
**I used 1 3/4 tsp of my homemade pumpkin pie spice. You can use PPS or add in each spice individually if you would like!
2 large eggs
1 (15 oz) can of Libby's 100% Pumpkin
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk


Cupcakes:
(as adapted from Bake It In A Cake)

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups whole milk (I only had skim milk and almond milk around, so I used the skim milk and they still turned out just fine!)


Frosting:
(slightly adapted from Bake It In A Cake)

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (again I used my homemade one!)


DIRECTIONS:
-Preheat oven to 425 degrees

-"Assuming" you have your pie crust already, go ahead and roll it out

-Using the rim of a drinking glass, cut circles out of your dough

-Gently press each circle into a mini cupcake pan to create a small pie shell

They don't have to be perfect, as you can see from above! ;)

-Prepare pumpkin pie mix:

-Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in medium sized bowl

-Beat eggs in a large bowl

-Stir in pumpkin

-Stir in sugar-spice mix

-Gradually stir in evaporated milk

Yum!!! I could drink this entire bowl!!!

-Pour mixture into prepared pie shells (about 3/4 of the way full)

-Bake pies at 425 degrees for 7 minutes and then reduce the temp to 350 and bake for an additional 10 minutes or so, just until the crusts are browned and the filling is set

-Remove from oven and allow to cool while you prepare your cupcake batter

-For the cupcake batter combine the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer

-Mix at medium speed for about 90 seconds (you want the ingredients well incorporated)

-Add in the sugar and mix until mixture is fluffy

-Add in the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition

-Add in vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and salt

Baking powder, baking soda, and salt

Vanilla!

-Mix in the milk and flour, alternating between each

Milk

Flour

-Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the bottom to make sure all ingredients are being incorporated well

-Beat again on medium-high speed for about a minute.....it should be smooth and creamy

-Line a [normal sized] cupcake pan with cupcake liners

-Pour 1 TBSP of cake batter into each cup

-Now, take a mini pumpkin pie and place it into the cups, gently pressing down (you don't want the pie to touch the bottom)

We will see you guys later!

-Pour more cake batter on top of each pie making sure to cover the top of the pie and the sides

-Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until the cakes are lightly browned
*I baked mine for 25 minutes and they came out very brown. I would suggest reducing that time down to 20 minutes and checking in for any time needed after 20 minutes**

-Remove from oven and allow cakes to cool 10 minutes before placing on cooling rack. In the mean time, prepare your frosting

-In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese until they are well incorporated

-Whip in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time until the mixture is smooth and creamy

-Add in the pumpkin pie spice and mix until all is incorporated

-Give the bowl one last good mixin' with the hand to make sure all the ingredients are mixed well

-Frost cupcakes anyway you would like!!!!!

I packaged them up for Lauren! <3

These were so fun to make, even if they were VERY time consuming. Making them for a great friend is worth all the blood, sweat, and tears! ;)


To my dear friend Lauren.....Happy Birthday!!!!! I love you!!!!!!!

<3 much, as always!!!
Amy