So remember how I promised you all recipes?--Pumpkin-Beer Cupcakes!

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been wanting to post these cupcakes forever. Well, for a week I guess. I really wanted to share them, because they were so fun to make and, well, really delicious.


Pumpkin-Beer Cupcakes swirled with Cinnamon Buttercream

Awhile ago I was eating pizza at Vinnie's with amko from the PPK, and I mentioned that I'd been wanting to try making pumpkin cupcakes with beer. And thus it was decided that we should definitely do this. Last Sunday she trekked to Bed-Stuy to upload new music onto my iTunes and embark on this exciting cupcake endeavor.

And it was exciting. I was having a clumsy day, but in the end we had glorious cupcakes--and a warm kitchen. Although my landlord has had the heat turned on since then.

Oh! And possibly the best part? We made--not one, not two, but--three varieties of frosting.


Frosting triptych: (left to right) Cinnamon Buttercream (modifed VCTOtW), Oktoberfest Glaze (more beer!), and Cream Cheese (VCTOtW)--all lovely, thought I think the beer glaze is my favorite.

I'm not going to lie, I had the Cream Cheeze one for breakfast on Monday. I took one of the Cinnamon Buttercream-frosted ones into my coworker at library, and she really liked it!

Besides being a fan of cupcakes and beer, respectively and together--am I the only one out there that thinks they are a great combo?--I think it really adds a nice depth. We used Brooklyn Brewery Oktoberfest, which incidentally is pretty delicious on its own. However, my love for seasonal beers is another post entirely.

The Oktoberfest Glaze was something I thought of on a whim, and it ended up being my favorite. How can you go wrong with more beer? The Cinnamon Buttercream was simply the Vegan Buttercream recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World; I had been thinking about cinnamon buttercream ever since I had that cupcake from Tillie's. And we had to do Cream Cheeze, because that is amko's favorite.

We also consulted VCTOtW for the cupcakes, got some ideas, and then pretty much did our own thing. We felt victorious when they came out of the oven not misshapen, sunken (even though I accidentally opened the oven door for a second!), or dreadful-tasting.

But perhaps you are wondering, do I have a recipe? I do.

Pumpkin-Beer Cupcakes

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
pinch nutmeg
pinch allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup pumpkin puree (from the can)
1 cup evaporated cane juice
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup seasonal or pumpkin beer (save some of the rest to make the glaze)

Line your muffin tin with cupcake wrappers, preferably fun Halloween-y ones (yay for hoarding away Martha Stewart cobweb and orange polka dot wrappers from last year!).

Stir together pumpkin puree, evaporated cane juice, vanilla, canola oil, and beer until well combined.

Sift in dry ingredients. Beat with a fork until most of the lumps are gone.

Divide batter equally between 12 muffin tins (a little more than a 1/4 cup per tin).

Bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Honestly we kind of forget about them and managed to remember at exactly the perfect time.

Let cool completely. Frost with icing or frosting of choice, like Oktoberfest Glaze (recipe below).

Oktoberfest Glaze

3/4 cup vegan powdered sugar
a splash of beer (Brooklyn Brewery Oktoberfest)

With a fork, stir in enough beer to make a paste. Add more powdered sugar if you it gets too runny. You don't want it to drip down the sides of your cupcakes, so it should be pretty thick.

Frost cupcakes and drink the leftover beer.


Glazed and beer-y.