Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

I love all things mini! Pumpkin cheesecakes included. I made these cheesecakes with my new mini cheesecake pans and they were very simple. I have previously made mini cheesecakes in mini muffin pans, but they were no where near as pretty and easy to make as when using a mini cheesecake pan. The mini cheesecake pan has cups with removable bottoms, so it is simple to remove the cakes once they have cooled.

CRUST:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tbsp. light brown sugar
2 tbsp. melted butter
1 tbsp. maple syrup
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

CHEESECAKE FILLING:
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg plus 1 egg white
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
pinch of ground gloves

TOPPING:
1 cup Whipping Cream
Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease inside of mini cheesecake pan with baking spray (a type of cooking spray that includes flour).

Mix crust ingredients until combined and then divide among 12 cheesecake cups. Press into bottom of cups using fingers or spoon.

In a bowl combine all cheesecake filling ingredients and mix until combined.

Spoon cheesecake filling into 12 cheesecake cups.

Bake for 14 minutes (do not allow the tops of the cakes to begin to crack).

Allow to cool for 20 minutes before removing cheesecakes from pan.

Store cheesecakes covered in the refrigerator.

Before serving, whip the whipping cream using a hand or stand mixed until soft peaks form. Pipe onto top of cheesecakes and sprinkle with ground cinnamon.

Yields 12 mini cheesecakes.

Enjoy!

Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes

Happy New Year! I can already tell that 2012 is going to be an exciting year, and I am looking forward all that lies ahead. I have officially been writing this blog for five months now, and I can's wait to continue sharing my baking endeavors with you.  If you remember, I posted about these mini bundt pans that I received as a Christmas present, and I was dying to try them out. I decided to make these mini pumpkin bundt cakes because the recipe promised to yield very moist little cakes. There is nothing worse than biting into a dry bundt cake. I am always ready to try a new dessert with pumpkin, as it is one of my favorite ingredients to bake with. I used my favorite salty caramel sauce to drizzle on top!

MINI PUMPKIN BUNDT CAKES
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
5.1 oz box of instant vanilla pudding mix
15 oz. pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat sugar, brown sugar, and oil together in large bowl. Add eggs, mixing well after each addition.

In a separate bowl mix all dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pudding mix.

Alternate adding pumpkin and dry ingredients to the sugar, oil, and egg mixture. Mix well.

Fill greased mini bundt pans (I always use baking spray that contains flour) 2/3 full with batter. The cakes will rise a lot while baking.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, but do not over bake! The cakes will start pulling away from the edges of the pan when they are done and inserted toothpick will come out clean.

Allow to cool so that you can use your hands to remove them from the pan and place on a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cupcakes

I lead a baking interest group for students at my school and decided this would be a fun cupcake for the group to make. I pre-made the frosting, cupcakes, and chocolate swirls, so all we did at the meeting was assemble the cupcakes. I loved the fun cupcake liners that I found at the grocery store. This cupcake uses a half of a doughnut on top of the cupcake to create a domed look. The cupcake could be simplified by leaving out the doughnut and, instead, making the cupcakes larger by filling the liners with more batter before baking. These would be cute to take to any Halloween party.

CUPCAKES:
24 cupcakes
24 honey wheat pretzel twists
12 green spearmint leaves
Orange Sugar Sprinkles
1 chocolate baking square (to melt)
12 plain mini doughnuts (cut in half - to make two thinner circles)


BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
1lb. powdered sugar
2 sticks butter
2 tsp. vanilla
Water or milk

Bake a batch of 24 cupcakes. I used vanilla, but I wish I would have had time to make pumpkin cakes!

Cream the butter for the frosting. Gradually add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Add water or milk until the desired consistency is reached (usually 3-4 tbsp).

Cut 12 mini donuts in half. Frost the top of the cupcake with a thin layer of buttercream. Place the cut doughnuts on  top. Frost the entire top of the cupcake and doughnut.

Break the end of a honey wheat pretzel off and place the remaining pretzel all the way into the center of the cupcake. Cut a green gummy spearmint leaf in half and place on top of cupcake.

Melt baking chocolate (not chocolate chips, as they will not harden) and and place in plastic bag with tip cut off. Pipe small stems onto wax paper and allow to harden. Once hardened, remove and place on top of cupcake. Sprinkle with orange sugar sprinkles.

Happy Halloween!