Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

It's official! I have finally ventured into the world of cupcakes. I know it took me forever, as the great cupcake craze started five years ago or so, but now that I'm on board I think I've created a pretty awesome cupcake.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

If you haven't noticed, I've been sort of obsessed with fall lately (I'm pretending it's not 113 degrees outside right now), especially all the amazing flavors of the season. I've been craving pumpkin most of all, and I've been trying my darndest to make an awesome something-or-other with it. It seemed the obvious choice for an experimental cupcake. I wanted the flavor to reflect pumpkin pie, so I included many of the spices you'd find in the dessert: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice.

When it comes to frosting, I usually go with my favorite, buttercream, but I've been so eager to try vegan cream cheese that I thought I'd take a risk and go for it. I never liked real cream cheese in my pre-vegan days, so the idea of purchasing vegan cream cheese never occurred to me. However, just as I found out that Vegenaise is far superior to its omnivorous alternative, I learned that vegan cream cheese rocks. I might just use it on a bagel or something! Call me crazy! I was even more delighted to find that it makes a ridiculously delicious and creamy frosting. I added some cinnamon and voila!  The perfect compliment to my little pumpkin spice cake.

What a cutie!

Finally, I thought this adorable dream of a cupcake could use a little something extra on top. My BFF Gwen makes a pumpkin-pecan pie every Thanksgiving, and if you ask me, it's the best thing ever. Her version combines my two favorite pies seamlessly to create a maddeningly delicious dessert. So now that she's ruined me for most other pumpkin desserts, I had to put a candied pecan on top. So you can thank Gwen for that.

I'm currently working on a plan for shipping these little nom-noms so that I can have them available on Etsy. So keep your eyes open for that. In the meantime, get out there and enjoy some fall flavors!