Pumpkin Mocha Cupcakes

Indulgent chocolatey pumpkin cupcakes topped with an incredibly light whipped cream frosting and homemade dulce de leche made right in the slow cooker!

Do you have a 2013 culinary bucket list? I haven’t actually written one out yet but I have a couple of things that I’m thinking I definitely have to make this year, like yeast breads, cinnamon rolls, dumplings and of course, dulce de leche. But lucky enough, I get to finally cross that off the list.

I’ve been wanting to make dulce de leche for quite some time now but I’ve always been too nervous to boil up a can of condensed milk. But then I found out that you could actually make it in a crockpot so I just had to try it out. It was incredibly simply to make – so simple that all you had to do was put in a can of condensed milk in a crockpot filled up with water and left to “cook” on low for 8 hours. Too easy, right?

It’s actually a bit dangerous to have homemade dulce de leche lingering around in the fridge since I’m putting it on everything but then again, I can always start my diet next week, right?

PUMPKIN MOCHA CUPCAKES

Prep Time20 minutes

Cook Time8 hours, 20 minutes

Total Time8 hours, 40 minutes

Yield10 cupcakes

Indulgent chocolatey pumpkin cupcakes topped with an incredibly light whipped cream frosting and homemade dulce de leche made right in the slow cooker!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup coffee
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING
• 2 1/4 cups heavy cream, chilled
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
FOR THE DULCE DE LECHE
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Learn How to Make Lemony Cashew Cake

 

INSTRUCTIONS

• Place condensed milk into a slow cooker and cover with water. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. Let cool to room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, coffee, 1 cup hot water, eggs and vanilla. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist.
• Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray. Place into oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar until soft peaks form, about 3-4 minutes.
• Use a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip to frost the cupcakes, drizzled with dulce de leche.

NOTES

Adapted from My Baking Addiction, Annie’s Eats and Buns In My Oven

Categories: Quick