Pumpkin Spice Invasion Cupcakes

I know the internet has it’s panties in a bunch about America’s pumpkin spice invasion. Is there an increasingly excessive amount of pumpkin spice products on the market each fall? Hell yes there are. But guess what… and brace yourself, because you won’t believe this… you don’t have to buy them. But you do have to calm the fuck down about them.

Why, you ask? Well, I actually have a secret to tell you. The pumpkin spices are alive. They are trying to take over the world. But they can’t do it without a power source. They feed on complainy energies. If we keep bitching about them they are only going to get bigger. You think pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin spice wine and pumpkin spice Pringles are bad? You just wait until we start seeing pumpkin spice tacos, pumpkin spice toothpaste and pumpkin spice edible underwear.

Take a deep breath. It’s ok. We can beat this. We can defeat them, it’s within our power, but we have to stop being so jaded about them. If they have nothing to feed on, they will fade away, just like all the other fads.

This is my defense against pumpkin spice. I’m workin’ for ya here, pumpkin spice pessimists. I’ve created a pumpkin spice latte cupcake, with pumpkin spice cream cheese filling, pumpkin spice buttercream frosting and topped with a pumpkin spice flavored candy corn.

So take that internet, I hope you explode.

Pumpkin Spice Invasion Cupcakes
adapted from the Joy of Baking and Yummly

The pumpkin spice is alive and it’s coming to get’cha… beware the cupcakes.

cupcake ingredients
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted better, at room temp
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tbsp coffee extract
¾ cup canned pumpkin
cinnamon-sugar and pumpkin spice candy corns, for garnish (if desired)

filling ingredients
8oz cream cheese
½ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup milk
1 tsp pumpkin extract
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

icing ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 tsp pumpkin extract
2 tbsp pumpkin spice coffee creamer
1 tsp coffee extract
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
⅛ tsp salt
4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with papers. (I like to double up.)

In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.

In a mixing bowl, beat together your butter and sugar until fluffed up. Add in your eggs, one at a time, beating after each one. Add in your coffee extract.

Next add in half your pumpkin, mix. Add in half your dry ingredients, mix. Repeat with the remaining pumpkin and dry ingredients.

Fill your baking cups, about two-thirds of the way full. Tap on counter to make them even and pretty on top. (They will flatten out some in the oven too.)

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean from a center cupcake. Remove cupcakes from oven and let cool.

In the meantime, prepare filling. Beat filling ingredients until smooth. Spoon into a pastry bag, fit with a filling tip. When cupcakes are cool, poke them with the tip and squeeze some filling into each one.

To make your frosting, beat together butter, pumpkin extract, espresso, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Slowly add in powdered sugar until a proper consistency. Pipe or smear onto your cupcakes. Garnish as you like. I’m using a dusting of cinnamon/sugar and pumpkin spice candy corns on each one.