Roasted Pumpkin Cupcakes with Mexican Chocolate Buttercream

these cupcakes are warm and fallish....without being too "pumpkiny".

and I'm always a lover of cinnamon and chocolate!

Roasted Pumpkin Cupcakes 

with Mexican Chocolate Buttercream

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup milk

3/4 cup browned butter*

2 cups roasted pumpkin puree** (if you use canned pumpkin instead you may need to adjust your flour--fresh pumpkin contains more water than canned)

1 tsp mexican vanilla

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2-1/4 tsp baking powder

*To brown butter:

Heat pan on medium heat.

Cut butter in to pieces and melt in pan.

Stir continuously. Butter will foam up.

After foam subsides, small brown flecks will start to appear in bottom of pan.

Continue stirring, until butter has reached a nice brown color, and nutty aroma.

When you want to lick the spoon, you know it's ready.

Turn the heat all the way down.

**to roast pumpkin ( smaller pie pumpkins or "sugar pumpkins" are the perfect size for roasting!)

-halve and clean pumpkin (save those seeds to roast with some olive oil and salt!)

-slice pumpkin into sixths

-brush with olive oil

-roast at 450° for 45min-1 hr depending on size of pumpkin (roast until fork tender)

-scrape insides from peel, and puree'

Preheat oven to 350°

Prepare cupcake pans with liners.

Beat sugar and eggs together until slightly thickened, about a minute.

Add milk, browned butter, pumpkin puree, and vanilla, stirring just until combined.

Add flour and baking powder, beating until well mixed--about a minute. Don't over mix.

Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes, until tops are springy to the touch or a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean.

Remove from cupcake pan and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Mexican Chocolate Buttercream

5oz good quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

8 TBS butter, at room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

2TBS baking cocoa

1 tsp mexican vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

4-8 TBS milk

Melt chocolate in a double boiler and allow to cool to room temperature.

Beat in butter until creamy.

Add powdered sugar, baking cocoa, cinnamon and vanilla. 

Slowly beat in milk 1TBS at a time until you reach desired consistency.

enjoy!