It’s almost Halloweeeeen! How I get so close to Halloween with NO seasonal recipes each and every single year kind of amazes me. Like, okay, it’s fine if it kinda slips your mind one time, but forgetting every single Halloween? Ooops. Sorry. To make it up to you, I made these fantastic spiced dark chocolate cupcakes, and topped them with a rich, fluffy cream cheese frosting that tastes just like pumpkin cheesecake! Oh, y’all, these are so good. If you like chocolate cake, you will totally fall in love with SPICED chocolate cake! Shun me if you must, but adding pumpkin spice mix to chocolate makes it richer and more complex, and it creates a perfect blend of warm, autumnal flavors. It’s like a hug hidden in a cupcake wrapper, basically.
The spiced dark chocolate flavors of the cake pair perfectly with the sweet, tangy pumpkin cheesecake frosting! It’s like a cross between regular cream cheese frosting and whipped cream, so the result is an icing that is super light and rich without being heavy or cloyingly sweet. I know I said I wasn’t going to use pumpkin this year, but you know what? There are just too many good recipes out there! It’s kind of impossible to stay away. So, it is with pride that I present to you my twelfth pumpkin recipe! TWELVE. Y’all, I might have a problem. In case you ALSO love pumpkin, just know that you can also drink it, swirl it in brownies, eat it for breakfast, or stuff it with chocolate. P.S. all of those statements are links to other recipes! Happy Halloween and have fun cooking with pumpkin! 🙂
- *for the cupcakes*
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp pumpkin spice mix
- ¾ cup {1½ sticks} unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ½ cup milk
- 3 eggs
- *for the frosting*
- 8 oz full-fat cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ tsp pumpkin spice mix
- Preheat the oven to 350F, and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy and well-combined.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and pumpkin spice.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the cocoa, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In another small bowl, mix together the milk and sour cream.
- Now, add about half of the dry ingredient mix to the butter-and-sugar mixture, and mix well. Add in all of the milk and sour cream, mix again, then finish with the rest of the dry ingredients.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake liners, filling about ⅔ of the way. This is IMPORTANT, they will very easily overflow!
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, then let cool completely before frosting.
- While cupcakes cool, prepare the frosting. In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, pumpkin, and spice, until light and fluffy.
- In a separate small bowl, beat the heavy cream to stiff peaks.
- Then, using a spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Don't mix it or it will deflate and become runny!
- Decorate cupcakes as desired, and store in fridge until ready to serve! The frosting is heavy cream-based, which means it will easily become runny if it gets warm!
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