Pumpkin Cupcakes

I think I might be a little late jumping on the pumpkin bandwagon this fall, but at last I do have a pumpkin recipe to share... just in time for Halloween! And this one is totally worth wait.

It had been a while since I'd brought goodies to work, and my coworkers were beginning to wonder if my oven was broken... so last week on my switch over night I whipped these little guys together. As much as I wanted to make something sweet I also wanted to make something seasonal, so pumpkin seemed like a no-brainer. Plus, who can pass up a cupcake?

Well, needless to say, these were a huge hit. The pumpkin really gave these an amazingly moist texture and wonderfully sweet flavor... it reminded me more pumpkin pie than of cake! At first I decorated a few of them with a pastry bag and a lot of frosting, but I found that I liked them better with a light smearing instead, so that the cake took center stage rather than the topping. (You can always, of course, frost them however you like.) But however you choose decorate, just make sure you put them on your Halloween party menu! As easy and delicious as these are, there's really no good reason to pass these up. Trust me, your guests (and your taste buds) will thank you!

Dinner Party: Italian Cream Cake

I am a firm believer that one cannot have a party without dessert. :)

This cake was the crown jewel of my dinner party. All things considered, it turned out quite beautiful... as a very novice cake decorator, my frosting didn't turn out quite as smooth as I had hoped, but it still made a pretty centerpiece for the table, nonetheless. And that's just the outside. The cake itself was light and melt-in-your-mouth moist with a mature, sweet flavor thanks to the toasted pecans and coconut that went into the batter. And while I was afraid that the cream cheese frosting would be too rich, it was the perfect compliment to the nutty, decadent cake... creamy and sweet without overpowering the other flavors in the cake. The three layers were pretty to look at once it was cut too, and gave a little testament to the amount of work than went into it, as well.