How was your thanksgiving?? I must say that mine was great!! I really enjoyed my time  off, and I will tell you that it will be hard tomorrow to get back to work. But good things always come to an end, that is how we get to appreciate them.

For Thanksgiving, I only got to prepare appetizers and desserts, and I had much fun Wednesday spending my day in the kitchen listening to Christmas tune and cooking.

I made :

• Mini Pecan Pies
• Vanilla Cheesecakes
• Raspberry. Lemon Mousse Cakes
• Chocolate Feuille D’automne
• Lemon Tarts
• and Pumpkin Praline Cupcakes 

Most of the desserts can be served at all times of the year besides maybe the Pumpkin Cupcakes and that is why I decided that I would share the recipe of them today. It is a easy, quick recipe that is very very flavorful.

The batter of the cupcakes is similar to the Pumpkin Roll that I make, and the frosting is also similar to the Praline Cupcakes that i also make. I love both flavors together, they marry well. However, you could stay with a Vanilla flavored Frosting for a more subdue frosting.  If you did not like the spices in the cupcakes batter, you could also do without. Just an idea.

I must say that the cupcakes taste better the day that they are made. They are soft, very moist. They still will taste good the days that follow, but they will have a much more dense texture. 

Ingredients for about 35+ Mini- Cupcakes:

• 1 ¾ cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 tsp of Clover powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon fine salt
• One 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Pie Crust Hearts:

• Half a rolled pie crust
• Milk, for brushing
• Granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Filling:

• 8 oz of cream cheese,
• 6 tbsp of butter at room temperature,
• 1 tbsp of vanilla extract,
• 1/4 cup of sugar.
• 1/2 cup of firmly packed brown sugar,
• 2 tbsp. of heavy cream.

1. Turn your oven  to 350 degrees F. Place the mini cupcakes mold onto a medium perforated sheet and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, the sugar, the spices, baking powder and salt together.
3. In another bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, the melted butter, eggs, milk and vanilla.
4. Gently fold the flour mixture into the wet pumpkin mixture until just incorporated.
5. Fill the wells up to about 3/4.
6. Bake the cupcakes for about 15 minutes or until the tops spring back when pressed. Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
7. While the muffins are cooling, cut out as many hearts as you need to decorate the top of each cupcakes.
8. When placing them onto the medium silpat that you would have placed onto a medium perforated sheet, stretch them a bit so that they will appear longer.
9. Brush each with milk, and sprinkle generously with granulated sugar.
10. Bake until deep golden brown, 10 minutes at the most.
11. Once cooked, set them aside to cool.
12. For the topping, first prepare the caramel.  In a small saucepan, place the cream and the brown sugar, and cook until it is bubbling and the sugar dissolves.
13. Empty the caramel into the small round flexiform and place it in the fridge for the caramel to cool.
14. In a bowl of an electric mixer, place the cream cheese, the butter, the vanilla, the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the sugar a little at a time and mix until it is well combined. Set aside.
15. When the caramel is cold, empty it into the cream cheese frosting. With a spatula, fold the caramel into the frosting slowly but do not combine!
16. With a small teaspoon, top each cupcake with the frosting.
17. Then gently push a pie crust Heart into the frosting of each cupcake, and serve. Et voila!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!