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Make-a-Cake Series: Thanksgiving Day Cupcakes

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Mmmmmmm, this Make-a-Cake series always makes me so hungry.

Brittany always creates the most delicious things.

But this one has me thinking of how I can justify making them this weekend…………
………and then again next week for Thanksgiving.  Yum.
Thanks Brittany!
-Ashley

Multi Tasking. 
I love making food that will multi-task for me, especially when it helps me with the busy holidays.
This thanksgiving I will have a dessert that will do three jobs:
  •  Act as a festive name card on the table.
  • A really delicious  treat to share with all attending.
  •  Saves time by not needing to dish up dessert after dinner.

This thanksgiving we are having….

Caramel Soaked Pumpkin Cupcakes 
with Cream Cheese Frosting and Toasted Walnuts. 

I have a favorite Thanksgiving dessert. It’s pumpkin cheesecake with caramel sauce. I enjoy it every year but its always hard to serve and takes a long time to make.  It’s worth it, but I decided that by turning those similar flavors into cupcakes this year, it would save me some time ……….and they’re cute too!

After I put the cupcakes all together, I took a bite and all the flavors of my favorite dessert came together.
In that moment, I decided they were even better in cupcake form!

I think I have a new favorite Thanksgiving dessert!
Maybe you’ll love it too……especially all of those delicious fall flavors.  The pumpkin, walnuts, caramel and cream cheese all rolled into a fantastic cupcake, will not disappoint.

Now onto the part where you can make your own.

Name Cards
I used the cupcakes as name cards.  You can do first initials like I did or whole names.  It’s up to you.

 
**Cut your letters from fondant and let them dry for 24 hours on a cornstarch coated sheet pan.
I made mine orange and white. You can do any colors you’d like.

Cupcakes
To make the cupcakes, I used a regular french vanilla cake mix and added to it. 
I baked them in cupcake liners but you can skip that step and bake then in a greased muffin pan. 
Makes 20-22 cupcakes
Mix together:
1 cake mix (french vanilla or white)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree 
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup milk
Fill your greased muffin tins 2/3 full and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. 
After the cupcakes cool, put each cupcake into a glass sauce dish. 
**I think these are pretty common. I am pretty sure you can pick some up at Walmart.
Using a melon baller or small spoon, make a small hole in the top of your cupcake.
Then, pour a 1/2 tablespoon of caramel topping into the hole. 
(I just bought Smuckers brand caramel. Use your favorite brand or homemade.  Mmmm.)
The caramel will soak down into the cupcake over the next hour. 
You can continue to decorate as this happens.
Decorating 

Make the cream cheese frosting from this post.

Color it with your choice of colors, and put it into piping bags.

How much frosting you need will depend on how many cupcakes you made.

1 batch of frosting will frost 20-22 cupcakes.

Cut the end of your piping bags off and pipe a swirl on top of each cupcake. 
Continue with all your colors until all your cupcakes are frosted. 
Toast some walnuts, break them into small pieces, and sprinkle them on top of your cupcakes.
To decorate the cupcakes with some fall decor I bought some edible leaves. 
They are made of rice paper and edible ink. HERE is where I bought them.
Add your dry letters to each cupcake. Press the letters into the frosting to make them stick. 
They are all ready for your table.
Set one at each place. 
Your guests will appreciate the time you took to make them their own personal dessert. 
But give them a extra fork for dessert. These cupcakes definitely need a fork!
I hope you all have a fun and delicious Thanksgiving!
Happy Decorating!

Ashley Johnston

Administrator at Make It & Love It
Ashley Johnston is a professional DIY costume maker, sewist, crafter, and owner of Make It & Love It. She is a mom of 5 and a wife to a very patient (with the craft clutter) husband. In case you’re wondering, she always chooses crafting/sewing/designing over mopping/dusting/wiping base boards……but bathrooms/laundry/full bellies are always attended to. Whew!

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Hi, I'm Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!

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