November Cupcakes

This month's cupcakes were inspired by the best thing about Thanksgiving --- PIE!

For all of the cupcakes, I cut leaves out of pie crust for garnishing. I use the pie crust recipe found here: 
http://chezpim.com/bake/how-to-make-the-perfect-pie-dough
It is the best ever. Once you get used to the technique, it's super easy to make. It rolls out like playdough, never gets tough and overworked, and is deliciously flaky and buttery. 


Apple Pie

Spiced cake 

For the cupcakes, I used this recipe:
http://lifemadesweeter.com/2014/09/apple-pie-cupcakes-salted-caramel-buttercream-frosting/
They were delicious! Not too sweet, nicely domed, with a moist crumb and a nice warmth from the spices.

Apple pie filling

For my filling, I used honeycrisp apples and the recipe found at the link above. The apples made the filling even tastier!

Salted caramel frosting

I used the recipe at the link above for the frosting as well. I used a delicious homemade salted caramel sauce found here: 
http://www.thekitchn.com/homemade-salted-163317


Pumpkin Pie

 Pumpkin cake

The cupcake recipe was found here: 
http://www.ninahendrick.com/pumpkin-spice-cupcakes/
It's a great classic pumpkin cake recipe. I wanted them to be pretty soft and dense to mimic pumpkin pie and they were perfect. 

Whipped cream frosting

I use the stabilized whipped cream recipe found here: 
http://www.food.com/recipe/wilton-stabilized-whipped-cream-79506
I whipped it to medium peaks (a little softer than I usually do for cupcakes) and applied a dollop with a large round tip. 

These cupcakes got a dusting of fresh-grated Ceylon cinnamon and nutmeg to finish them off.


Pecan Pie

Butter pecan cake

For the cupcakes, I used the butter pecan cake recipe found here:
http://acuppycakelife.blogspot.com/2010/07/butter-pecan-cupcakes.html
Most of the pecan pie cupcake recipes I found used a vanilla base, but I'm so glad I went with the butter pecan cake! It was the perfect rich, buttery, nutty base for the sweet filling.

I saved the extra butter-toasted pecans to sprinkle on top of the cupcakes after they were filled.

Pecan pie filling

For the pie filling, I used this recipe:
http://joandsue.blogspot.ca/2012/10/pecan-pie-cupcakes.html
My filling didn't set up very well in spite of a night in the fridge. It worked fine as a syrupy glaze, though. I let it run over the top of the cupcake so the extra buttery pecans would stick. It made for a slightly messy eating experience, but ... worth it.

Whipped cream frosting

I used the stabilized whipped cream found above for these as well. I whipped it to firm peaks and applied with a large French star tip. Somehow I didn't get a picture of these with the pie crust garnish, but they got one too.