Pumpkin White Chocolate Filled Cupcakes

Welcome back, pumpkin spice! I'm glad you're back, here is one reason. These moist, fragrant pumpkin spice cupcakes have a vanilla cream filling and white chocolate ganache frosting! What a great flavor combination, you may just make these year-round! This recipe makes two dozen, but you can divide the recipe in half if you'd like.

Prep Time: 1 hour Yield: 24 cupcakes

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp allspice

1 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp pure maple extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12 inch muffin pans with cupcake liners.

Fork sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice together in a large bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a hand mixer and separate large bowl), blend together the oil, eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, vanilla and maple extracts until well combined.

Blending on medium speed, add the flour mixture, in stages, combining until smooth.

Pour or scoop the batter into the cupcake liners, filling approximately 2/3 full.

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until cupcakes spring back when touched in center.

Allow cupcakes to cool while you make the stabilized vanilla whipped cream and white chocolate ganache.

Stabilized Whipped Cream

Once you make the whipped cream, refrigerate while you make the white chocolate ganache.

White Chocolate Ganache

1 cup heavy cream

16 ounces white chocolate chips

In medium microwave-safe bowl, heat the heavy cream on high until hot, approximately 1 minute. Add the white chocolate chips to the hot cream, letting the mixture rest for a few minutes before whisking mixture until smooth.

Reserve 1/4 cup of the white chocolate ganache to dye orange for the circle decor on top of the ganache frosting (optional).

ASSEMBLE THE CUPCAKES:

After the cupcakes are completely cooled, use a sharp small paring knife to cut a one inch cone-shaped * circle of cake from the center of each cupcake. Cut off the bottom tip of the cut cake circles, leaving the top of the circle intact to go back on the cupcake. Set aside the cut circles to use in final cupcake assembly.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a round piping tip, or half-gallon zip lock bag that has been cut at the tip, with the whipped cream. Generously fill the cupcakes with the cream, then press the cut circles back on top of the cream, ensuring a flat cupcake surface.

Pour ganache over cupcakes. Drizzle with orange white chocolate if desired.

*Cone-Shaped circle cut outs: When cutting the circle from the cupcake, place the knife at a 45 degree angle as you cut out the circle, thereby leaving more of the cupcake intact than cutting straight down into the cake.