Ahh, Autumn!

It has been a busy couple of months! Thankfully, I've been able to slow down on this rainy Saturday afternoon, relax in my pajamas, and bake some autumn-inspired cupcakes! Ahhh, autumn!


This morning, I made pumpkin cupcakes with maple cream-cheese frosting. I'm especially proud of myself because these cakes are HOMEMADE and FROM SCRATCH!
I'm sorry, friends, but I have to admit that sometimes I use a cake mix or a can of frosting when I'm pressed for time. It's ghastly, I know.
But not today! Today, I woke up at 7:30am to prep! I measured out every teaspoon of nutmeg, ground cloves, cinnamon, and ginger that this recipe required! I messily spooned pumpkin puree into measuring cups! I felt like a chemist, adding the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together, and then carefully adding eggs and then the buttermilk and vanilla extract -- just a little bit at a time -- until the batter was the perfect consistency. Then, as the cakes were cookin', I whipped up the frosting with cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, and maple syrup. Sticky sweet and scrumptious!

I'm pretty proud of these cakes. They came out delicious, and my family really enjoyed them. Also, I made them without a stand mixer! I beat and whisked these cakes together with my little, ol' electric hand-mixer and my own brute strength!!! A real labor of love!

Here's wishing I could share the aroma of these little treats with you, too!