These dark chocolate pumpkin cupcakes are made with special dark cocoa and canned pumpkin, then topped with buttercream frosting and pumpkin candy for a delightful seasonal treat.
Who remembers Pick-A-Mix? Back in the good old days, Brach’s candies were displayed in an open case in many stores with a big Pick-A-Mix sign. You helped yourself to a bag and filled it with your choice of candies, paying by the weight. Often these candy cases were near the front of the store, just by the lines for the cashiers.
My grandmother was a real character and, while she had a generous heart where her grandchildren were concerned, she did not tolerate laziness or ineptitude well, even in us. If the store had long lines at the cashier and only one or two lanes open, Gram would instruct us each to choose a candy from the Pick-A-Mix.
She considered that well-deserved compensation for a lengthy wait in line. As a child I was mortified to comply, but one did not argue with my grandmother! My favorites were the cinnamon or the butterscotch hard candies.
Nowadays it’s a rare store that still has a Pick-A-Mix case, but one can buy those Brach’s candies in bags, some with seasonal variations like the autumn mix, the party mix and the old-fashioned holiday mix with red, white and green hard candies.
Can I confess that I’m not a huge fan of the autumn candy mix for eating? I do love them for decorating though! Nothing cheers up a cake, cookie or cupcake like a few candy corns or tiny pumpkins scattered about. Those instantly say autumn to me. Halloween is not far off AND Thanksgiving is coming just behind it!
With that in mind, I’ve baked you some chocolate pumpkin cupcakes, topped with the little Autumn mix pumpkins I have on hand. Wouldn’t they be perfect as one of the desserts for your Halloween party or Thanksgiving table?
Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes
This recipe makes 18 cupcakes and plenty of buttercream frosting. Using special dark cocoa ensures maximum chocolate flavor but if you don't have it, normal cocoa can be substituted. The addition of pumpkin adds a very subtle background taste even pumpkin haters might not discern, but it gives
these cupcakes super moisture and creates a tender crumb.
Ingredients
For the cupcake batter – makes 18:
2 1/2 cups or 315g all-purpose flour
1/4 cup or 30g extra dark special cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups or 355g canned pumpkin – not pie filling
1 1/2 cups or 300g granulated sugar
1/2 cup or 120ml whole milk
1/4 cup or 57g butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
For the vanilla buttercream frosting - makes about 3-3/4 cups:
1 1/2 lbs or 675g confectioners’ sugar
1 cup or 226g butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
6-8 tablespoons milk
To decorate – optional
Ground cinnamon
Sparkly sugar
Candy pumpkins or candy corn
Shavings of chocolate candy
Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your cupcakes pans by greasing them with butter or lining them with paper cupcake liners.
Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and baking soda in a large bowl. Set aside.
Using your stand mixer or electric beaters, beat together the pumpkin, sugar, milk and butter.
Add eggs in one by one, mixing well with each addition.
Slowly add dry ingredients to wet as you mix. Mix until well combined.
Spoon batter into your prepared cupcake cups.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool completely before you top them with frosting.
To make the frosting:
In large bowl, with mixer at medium-low speed, beat confectioners’ sugar, butter, vanilla, and 6 tablespoons milk until smooth and blended.
Increase speed to medium-high; beat until frosting is light and fluffy, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Beat in additional milk as needed for easy spreading consistency.
Use a piping bag and a large tip to decorate the cooled cupcakes with frosting.
From high above the cupcakes, sprinkle a small pinch of cinnamon on each cupcake, along with some sparkly sugar, if desired. Top each with a tiny pumpkin or other seasonal candy.
Enjoy!
It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes with pumpkin! Many thanks to our host, Renu of Renu Cooks. Check out all the pumpkin recipes below.
- Almond Flour Pumpkin Muffins from Amy's Cooking Adventures
- Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes from Food Lust People Love
- Pumpkin and Black Bean Quesadillas from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Pumpkin Crème Brûlée from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Pumpkin Prune Quick Bread from Palatable Pastime
- Pumpkin Sweet Potato and Amaranth Patties from Cook with Renu
- Quick Pumpkin And Other Veggies Sabzi from Sneha’s Recipe
We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.
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