Pumpkin Cupcakes
From Dorothy McNett's recipes at www.dorothymcnett.com. This will make about 24 standard sized cupcakes, or 12 giant ones baked in popover sized pans. You can easily cut the recipe in half if desired, but if you have opened a can of pumpkin (2 cups) you might just as well bake the whole batch. If you have only one cupcake pan, this recipe can be baked in batches. Just let the batter stand at room temperature and bake as soon as the first batch is done.
3 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
4 eggs
3 cups crystalline brown sugar (raw sugar)
1/4 cup minced crystalline ginger
2 cups pumpkin puree (canned or freshly cooked mashed pumpkin or squash)
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sherry or water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use paper cupcake liners, if desired. Or, brush a bit of olive oil over bottoms and halfway up each cup, sprinkle with just a little flour. If non-stick pan, oil it anyway! In batter bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk the eggs very well. Whisk in the sugar. Switch to a spatula and blend in the ginger, pumpkin, oil and sherry. Fill each cupcake pan slightly over half full, as much as 3/4 full but no more than that. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until nicely browned and the top is set up and firm when lightly touched with your finger. The timing depends so much on the sizes of the pans, your oven, and how full you filled them! Place pan on a cooling rack and allow to stand 5-10 minutes before removing. Repeat with remaining batter, if necessary.
Recipe created 2011-11-12.
