Cupcake Sophistication

I, like many of you I'm sure, have noticed the resurgence of an age-old confection...the Cupcake (that was my best Alton Brown impersonation!) Anyway, I've noticed that cupcakes were once looked down upon as too much work for just a bite-sized morsel of sweet goodness, but now it has become a chic business empire to say the least (OK, a bit more Alton...)

Since we live in such a small town, we generally go to Orem (about 25 min away) to see movies, shop or to eat out. I have noticed several times a cute little shop by the theater we usually go to that has been calling my name for several months now.

It's called "Cupcake Chic". I love their definition of what a cupcake really is: "A Stylish Individual Cake with Good Taste". Cupcake sophistication has arrived!

I finally ventured in and the sweet aromas of pure decadence permeated the air putting me into a deliciously euphoric state. It was almost too much! These precious little gems of goodness were each calling my name and the torturous task of "choosing" became almost impossible. I was completely thrown back to my childhood where one of my biggest dilemmas was my lack of ability to "decide" so my mother usually made such decisions for me...but my mother was no where to be found and I had to make a choice. Here is the list I had to choose from...it was almost impossible, but after several heart-wrenching minutes of having to eliminate possible candidates, I ended up buying 4 regular sized cupcakes and 2 mini's for my 2 *Littles* who were with me. The flavors I bought were: Dark Chocolate w/Buttercream Frosting, Red Velvet w/Cream Cheese Frosting, Cinnamon Sugar w/Buttercream Frosting & Pumpkin w/Cream Cheese Frosting. (I got the girls Vanilla w/Strawberry Frosting.)

OK, they were good, but for $2.50 per cupcake, they weren't great. I will say that hands down, the Pumpkin was the best. I knew I could do better so I came home and created a recipe that ended up being SO GOOD!! These are incredibly moist...

If you're interested, here's the recipe:

Pumpkin Cupcakes

3 Sticks Butter, softened
1 C. packed Brown Sugar (I used my very own homemade!!)
1 1/2 C. Sugar
4 Eggs
1 Can Pumpkin (29 oz)
3 C. Flour
2 Tbs. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Ground Cloves
1 tsp. Ginger
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 tsp.Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda

Just mix it all up and fill cups 3/4 full... Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-22 min.

Then I made a Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

(My frosting came out a little soft...personally, I would keep the Cream Cheese firm). I made these with one of my *Littles* and she frosted them...Aren't they beautiful?? Not too bad for a 3 year old;)

Mine didn't turn out as visually pleasing as the ones in the specialty store, but they were definitely better. So my friends, the lesson I learned from this delectable experience? Who cares what they look like...Cupcakes are not just for kids anymore...