Owl Pumpkin Cupcakes w/Choco-orange Frosting

[bubblebubba]

Gryffindor tie? Check.
Firebolt? Check.
Authentic Ollivander's wand? Check.
Gray sweater, white collared shirt, black jeans a la the fifth film? Check, check, annnd...check.
Owl?



If we're going to play a game of whodunnit, it wasn't Crookshanks this time.

I confess. I ate my owl.

But so did my dozen other friends who indulged in these delicious Halloween-inspired treats, complete with a surprise choco-orange frosting. It was not. My. Fault.

It really was a very tasty owl.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm just going to mosey off to Eeylops' Owl Emporium...I may need to buy another one so I can air-mail these to every other person on Earth who deserves it. Because they're quite good, you know.

Well, what are you waiting for? Hop on over to my blog for more fun photos and make this recipe ASAP!


Owl Pumpkin Cupcakes with Choco-Orange FrostingYield: 12 cupcakesCupcake Ingredients (adapted from Allrecipes):

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons applesauce
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Cupcake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine sugar, oil, and applesauce. Mix in vanilla and pumpkin puree. Beat in eggs one at a time. In a separate bowl, combine all remaining (i.e. dry) ingredients, then add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir in until just incorporated.
2. Line 12 muffin tins with cupcake liners. Fill each liner 3/4-full with batter. Bake for 17-19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted it just comes out clean. Allow to cool before frosting with a scrumptious choco-orange surprise frosting!

Choco-Orange Frosting Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice (adjust to reach desired consistency)

Choco-Orange Frosting Directions:

1. Cream butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and orange zest; mix until blended. Gradually add orange juice, stirring in after every half tablespoon to check for consistency. Add as much orange juice as needed to obtain a thick, gloopy frosting (you can also thin it out with additional orange juice as needed for a thinner frosting).