Pumpkin Cupcakes

Extra moist chocolate chip pumpkin cupcakes with fresh vanilla cream cheese frosting topped with cinnamon sugar and caramel drizzle.

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Pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Sweet Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Well, Hello Pumpkin and Chocolate! These pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes came out divine, the second time I made the recipe. No matter how long I have been baking, at home or for my restaurant, rarely does a brand-new recipe come out perfect the first time. Usually, there is always something that I would change to make it better or just right.

I like my cupcakes, cakes or sweet breads light, airy and moist. I don't like dense, heavy cupcake that are dry and crumble. To me, that is not a good cake. So, what's the secret? Well, there is no secret, and one rule does not apply to all baked goods.

Three things that I generally do or don't do in a cake or cupcake recipe.

First, I like a balanced fat content in a recipe and enough moisture to avoid denseness. If the batter is very thick and dense, the cake will bake to a dense, dry consistency.

Second, I try, try, really hard not to over mix the batter. The wet and dry ingredients should be lightly and gently folded together. Over mixing the batter will create the gluten in the flour to form elastic gluten strands and in turn the cake will become denser and drier with a chewy texture. 

Lastly, over baking will dry out the cakes. You should check about a minute or two before the baking time is up. Ovens vary and so can baking times. Also, remember that once you remove the pan from the oven, it is extremely hot, and you are not going to remove the cupcakes immediately. Therefore, while they are sitting in the hot pan, they are still baking.  As soon as there is no batter on the toothpick, remove the cupcakes from the oven. 

The first time I made this recipe, it was a little dry, not bad but not moist and airy enough. The flavor was spot on, so it definitely deserved a second try. I just increased the fat and moisture content and the cupcakes baked to perfection in 20 minutes.

The chocolate chips used in this recipe are Endangered Species Chocolate Premium Baking Chips, Oat Milk + Dark Chocolate, 55% Cocoa. They are not the easiest to find, I traveled an hour to Whole Foods to get these. This is my first time trying these chips and let me say this, I love them. They are tiny and delicious. For this pumpkin cupcake tiny is perfect. I say that because, it was important for the flavor of pumpkin and chocolate to complement each other and over power one another. So a small bite of chocolate enhances the pumpkin cake. If you are not able to find this particular brand, I would suggest using mini chocolate chips. Or, alternatively, chop the normal size chips to smaller pieces.

As for the frosting, it has just the right sweetness. I love sweets, but not over done sweet. You know what I mean? Too much is too much and too may recipes call for too much sugar. I like balance and I think this frosting is well balanced, it is sweet, the vanilla shines though and it has a soft, silky consistency.

I am very pleased with this recipe, it is a keeper!!