Yes – it’s pumpkin season! Well, in the US in any case, but also here at our house in the Southern Hemisphere. {And seeing as half my family lives in the States, I think it’s quite appropriate that we have our own little pumpkin season to celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving.}

The Jack-o-lanterns from Halloween have not suffered in vain – no, they have been up-cycled into baby food, Moroccan meatloaf {yesterday} and scrummy cheesecake-stuffed cupcakes {today}.  But don’t fear – there will be plenty more pumpkin dishes popping up over the next few days, as I have a LOT of pumpkin purée!

I found a really yummy recipe for pumpkin cupcakes on Pinterest at:

http://www.silvanaskitchen.com/gluten-free-cheesecake-filled-pumpkin-cupcakes/

{Mine are not gluten-free; if you’re going to have a cupcake, have it properly with all the gluten in tact! Unless of course you are gluten-intolerant and the only way to have your treat is to substitute with a GF option…}

Anyways – drifting off topic again – here is the recipe:

For the cream cheese mixture:

1 tub of cream cheese {230g at room temperature}

1/2 a cup of icing sugar

1 egg white

1/2 a tsp of vanilla

Whisk the cream cheese and sugar and add the egg white. Whisk until fluffy and add the vanilla. Whisk some more until everything is mixed.

For the pumpkin batter:

1 1/2 cups of flour {normal, gluten-free, whatever you prefer}

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice {use equal parts cinnamon, mixed spice and nutmeg}

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup of puréed pumpkin

2 eggs

1 cup of sugar

1/2 a cup of melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

Mix all the dry ingredients together and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, egg, sugar, butter and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix well.

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a muffin pan with 12 cupcake cases.

Fill the cases: one spoonful pumpkin batter, one spoonful cheesecake mix, another spoonful pumpkin batter. The cases should be almost full, but not quite to the top.

Bake for 25 minutes until cooked. A toothpick will come out clean.

For the frosting:

1 cup yellow sugar {or brown, but the yellow adds some nice colour.}

4 egg whites

1/4 tsp salt

230g butter {chilled and cubed}

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Mix the egg whites, sugar and salt and whisk over a pot of simmering water until the sugar has melted. Remove from the water and continue to whisk at high speed until it reaches room temperature.

Add the butter, one cube at a time while whisking, until the mixture is thick and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla.

Transfer to a piping bag with a large round nozzle and pipe large swirls onto the cooled cupcakes.

{I think I will bake these a lot just to get that ‘American’ smell wafting through the house! It’s just the best smell and so typically ‘American Holiday’, it will always fill me with nostalgia.}

A must-bake – enjoy!