The World’s #1 Collection of Cookbook Recipes Online
baking
spiderweb-pumpkin-ginger-cupcakes

Photo by: Joseph De Leo

The cream cheese frosting on these deep golden orange cupcakes is decorated with a spiderweb design that is surprisingly easy to make. They are perfect for Halloween, of course, but really fit in throughout the “chilly” season. Chopped crystallized ginger adds a hot, spicy kick to the cupcakes, and it could also be used on top of the frosting as an alternative to the spiderweb decoration.

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

  • 1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 3 large eggs
  • ¼ cup (about 1¼ ounces) crystallized ginger cut into 1/8- to ¼-inch pieces

Frosting;

  • 1 recipe Cream Cheese Frosting, at room temperature
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons whole milk

Directions

Make the cupcakes. Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on low-medium speed, beat the melted butter, sugar, and pumpkin until smoothly blended. Mix in the eggs and crystallized ginger. On low speed, mix in the flour mixture until it is incorporated. The batter will be thick. Fill each paper liner with a generous ¼ cup of batter, to about ½ inch below the top of the liner. Bake just until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack.

Carefully place the wire rack on top of the cupcakes in their pan. Protecting your hands with pot holders and holding the pan and rack together, invert them to release the cupcakes onto the wire rack. Turn the cupcakes top side up to cool completely.

Frost the cupcakes. Transfer ¼ cup of the frosting to a small bowl, and stir in enough cinnamon to make the frosting a light brown color and enough milk to make a thick but pourable frosting. Set aside to use for the spiderweb decoration. Use a small spatula to spread a scant 1/4 cup of the remaining frosting on top of each cupcake in a smooth even layer. Cleaning the spatula often against the side of the bowl will help you spread the frosting smoothly.

Spoon the reserved cinnamon frosting into a small self-sealing freezer bag. Press out the excess air and seal the bag. Cut a tiny hole in one corner of the bag, about 1/16 inch long. Hold the bag about ½ inch above a cupcake and slowly pipe 2 circles, one inside the other, on the frosting. Pipe a dot of the frosting in the center. Using a toothpick, and beginning at the center, draw the tip gently through the frosting toward the edge of the cupcake. Move the toothpick about ¾ inch away and, beginning at the edge of the cupcake, draw it toward the center. Continue pulling shallow lines, alternating the direction of the toothpick, around the top of the cupcake, to form a web pattern. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

The cupcakes can be loosely covered and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.


© 2005 Elinor Klivans
 

Nutritional Information

Nutrients per serving

This recipe serves 12. Nutritional information does not include Cream Cheese Frosting. For nutritional information on Cream Cheese Frosting, please follow the link above.

225 kcal
4 % daily value
1 % daily value
8 % daily value
84 mg
11 mg
4 g
20 g
1 g
33 g
73 mg
181 mg
5 g
9 g
7 % daily value

Explore Cookbooks on Cookstr

big-fat-cookies Big Fat Cookies
by Elinor Klivans
cooking-with-too-hot-tamales Cooking with Too Hot Tamales
by Mary Sue Milliken, Susan Feniger
nigella-express Nigella Express
by Nigella Lawson
allergy-free-desserts Allergy-Free Desserts
by Elizabeth Gordon
the-provence-cookbook The Provence Cookbook
by Patricia Wells
the-deen-bros-take-it-easy-quick-and-affordable-meals-the-whole-family-will-love The Deen Bros. Take It Easy...
by Bobby Deen, Jamie Deen
baked-new-frontiers-in-baking Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
by Matt Lewis, Renato Poliafito
spice Spice
by Ana Sortun
ham-an-obsession-with-the-hindquarter Ham: An Obsession with the ...
by Bruce Weinstein, Mark Scarbrough
nancy-silvertons-sandwich-book Nancy Silverton's Sandwich ...
by Nancy Silverton
daves-dinners-a-fresh-approach-to-home-cooked-meals Dave's Dinners: A Fresh App...
by Dave Lieberman
the-gourmet-cookbook The Gourmet Cookbook
by Ruth Reichl
hot-sour-salty-sweet Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet
by Jeffrey Alford, Naomi Duguid
food-to-live-by Food to Live By
by Myra Goodman
the-lee-bros-southern-cookbook-stories-and-recipes-for-southerners-and-would-be-southerners The Lee Bros. Southern Cook...
by Ted Lee, Matt Lee
complete-book-of-indian-cooking-350-recipes-from-the-regions-of-india Complete Book of Indian Coo...
by Suneeta Vaswani
amor-y-tacos Amor Y Tacos
by Deborah Schneider
rice Rice
by Bonnie Tandy Leblang, Joanne Lamb Hayes
how-to-be-a-domestic-goddess How to be a Domestic Goddess
by Nigella Lawson
ice-creams-and-sorbets-cool-recipes Ice Creams and Sorbets: Coo...
by Lou Seibert Pappas
125-best-cupcake-recipes 125 Best Cupcake Recipes
by Julie Hasson
lucindas-authentic-jamaican-kitchen Lucinda's Authentic Jamaica...
by Lucinda Scala Quinn
the-sushi-experience The Sushi Experience
by Hiroko Shimbo
young-and-hungry-more-than-100-recipes-for-cooking-fresh-and-affordable-food-for-everyone Young and Hungry: More Than...
by Dave Lieberman
david-rosengarten-entertains-fabulous-parties-for-food-lovers David Rosengarten Entertain...
by David Rosengarten
sunday-suppers-at-lucques Sunday Suppers at Lucques
by Suzanne Goin
le-bernardin-cookbook Le Bernardin Cookbook
by Eric Ripert, Maguy Le Coze
julias-kitchen-wisdom Julia's Kitchen Wisdom
by Julia Child
fruits-of-the-harvest-recipes-to-celebrate-kwanzaa-and-other-holidays Fruits of the Harvest: Reci...
by Eric V. Copage
salmon-a-cookbook Salmon: A Cookbook
by Diane Morgan
flavor Flavor
by Rocco DiSpirito
cook-with-jamie Cook with Jamie
by Jamie Oliver
lidias-italy Lidia's Italy
by Lidia Bastianich
cooking-for-friends Cooking for Friends
by Gordon Ramsay
the-mozza-cookbook The Mozza Cookbook
by Nancy Silverton
living-raw-food Living Raw Food
by Sarma Melngailis
the-bread-bible The Bread Bible
by Rose Levy Beranbaum
antipasti-fabulous-appetizers-and-small-plates Antipasti: Fabulous Appetiz...
by Joyce Goldstein
arthur-schwartzs-new-york-city-food Arthur Schwartz's New York ...
by Arthur Schwartz
down-home-with-the-neelys-a-southern-family-cookbook Down Home with the Neelys: ...
by Gina Neely, Pat Neely
chez-panisse-fruit Chez Panisse Fruit
by Alice Waters
american-vegan-kitchen American Vegan Kitchen
by Tamasin Noyes
new-american-table New American Table
by Marcus Samuelsson
raos-cookbook Rao's Cookbook
by Frank Pellegrino
a-bakers-odyssey A Baker's Odyssey
by Greg Patent
good-to-the-grain Good to the Grain
by Kim Boyce
the-new-basics-cookbook The New Basics Cookbook
by Sheila Lukins, Julee Rosso
david-burkes-new-american-classics David Burke's New American ...
by David Burke, Judith Choate
the-splendid-tables-how-to-eat-weekends The Splendid Table's How to...
by Sally Swift, Lynne Rosetto Kasper
the-sweet-life The Sweet Life
by Kate Zuckerman
martin-yans-china Martin Yan's China
by Martin Yan
125-best-vegan-recipes 125 Best Vegan Recipes
by Maxine Effenson Chuck, Beth Gurney
jacques-torres-a-year-in-chocolate-80-recipes-for-holidays-and-special-occasions Jacques Torres' A Year in C...
by Judith Choate, Jacques Torres
bistro-cooking-at-home-more-than-150-classic-and-contemporary-dishes Bistro Cooking at Home: Mor...
by Gordon Hamersley
everyday-chinese-cooking Everyday Chinese Cooking
by Katie Chin, Leeann Chin
american-masala American Masala
by Suvir Saran
seriously-simple-easy-recipes-for-creative-cooks Seriously Simple: Easy Reci...
by Diane Rossen Worthington
hudson-valley-mediterranean-the-gigi-good-food-cookbook Hudson Valley Mediterranean...
by Laura Pensiero
mom-a-licious Mom-a-Licious
by Domenica Catelli
usa-cookbook U.S.A. Cookbook
by Sheila Lukins
baked-explorations Baked Explorations
by Matt Lewis
desserts-4-today Desserts 4 Today
by Abby Dodge
fresh-from-the-farmers-market-year-round-recipes-for-the-pick-of-the-crop Fresh from the Farmers' Mar...
by Janet Fletcher
rosas-new-mexican-table-friendly-recipes-for-festive-meals Rosa's New Mexican Table: F...
by Roberto Santibanez
urban-italian-simple-recipes-and-true-stories-from-a-life-in-food Urban Italian: Simple Recip...
by Andrew Carmellini
a-new-way-to-cook A New Way to Cook
by Sally Schneider
mexican-made-easy-everyday-ingredients-extraordinary-flavor Mexican Made Easy: Everyday...
by Marcela Valladolid
fresh-from-the-market Fresh from the Market
by Laurent Tourondel
the-whole-beast-nose-to-tail-eating The Whole Beast: Nose to Ta...
by Fergus Henderson
mexican-everyday Mexican Everyday
by Rick Bayless
Already a member? Click here to Log In
close

Sign up to Cookstr!

  • Receive a free, handpicked selection of recipes in your inbox weekly
  • Save, share and comment on your favorite recipes in My Cookstr
  • Get updates on new Cookstr features and tools







By signing up you accept the
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Spinner
New to Cookstr? Click here to Sign Up
close


Forgot your password? Click here