Hello! It's going to be full-on FALL over here for the foreseeable future. For the last three years beginning in September, I would start travel for work until November. To give you a good idea of what this week looked like last year, I left on Sunday for Northern Virginia, was home for a weekend and then left again for 4 solid weeks. While it was fun to eat my way through Virginia for 3 months, I'm happy to say that I now have the ability to do some fall baking, go to my barre class, and GO ON VACATION! It's going to be a great fall and I am prepared to take full advantage.
What better way to start off fall baking than with the most basic of fall treats: a PSL cupcake! Now, lets talk about PSLs.....for years I refused to get in on the PSL trend mainly because (don't tell anyone) I don't really like Starbucks' version of the PSL. Dunkin' Donuts Iced Pumpkin Macchiato on the other hand is something I can get behind. It's not overly sweet and it is extra creamy with a hint of spice and pumpkin. What more could a girl ask for?
Actually, what a girl could ask for is an iced Toasted Graham Latte from Starbucks. Does anyone remember those? I drank 456 of those over three months as I was traveling in 2015. That drink is my favorite Starbucks drink of all time. Please bring it back!
Anyway, back to these cupcakes. What we have here is a deliciously dense, spiced, pumpkin cake topped with the fluffiest coffee buttercream of all time. Seriously. I gave one of these to a friend and he thought it was whipped cream. So. Fluffy.
Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes
recipe from The Whole Bite
For the cakes
3 cups flour
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon ginger
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 15 ounce can pumpkin
1 cup oil
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and fill 2 cupcake pans with liners.
- In a medium bowl combine dry ingredients and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine eggs brown sugar, pumpkin, and oil.
- Add dry ingredients to the mixer on low speed until wet and dry ingredients are totally incorporated and smooth.
- Using a medium batter scoop or spoon evenly distribute batter between the 2 prepared cupcake pans and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove cupcakes from pan and place on a wire cooling rack until ready to frost.
For the Coffee Buttercream
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
pinch of salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat room temperature butter until smooth and creamy.
- Add powdered sugar and beat until just combined.
- Add vanilla and salt and beat on high until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- In a small measuring cup combine coffee granules with 1 tablespoon water and stir until the granules have dissolved.
- Add coffee mixture to the buttercream and mix on medium speed until just combined.
- Bump mixer up to the highest speed and beat until frosting gets lighter in color and super fluffy, about 2 - 3 minutes.
- Frost completely cooled cupcakes and top with cinnamon before serving.
