Hello friends! I’m proud to announce a new recipe (a Ruth semi-original) that is the epitome of fall: pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and a caramel drizzle. Yeah, you read it right. And they’re every bit as good as they sound! Imagine a light, fluffy pumpkin cake with a soft, creamy, tangy frosting, drizzled with a warm, smoky, smooth caramel. And now that your mouth is watering, I’ll tell you how to make them!

Ingredients:

• 1 package (16 oz) pound cake mix
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp allspice, and 1/8 tsp nutmeg if you don’t have pumpkin pie spice)
• 1 tsp baking soda

Frosting:

• 8 oz light cream cheese
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 lb powdered sugar

Caramel Drizzle

• 1 package soft caramels
• 3 Tbsp milk (any type)

First, mix the cake mix with the water, eggs, and vanilla until it is fully combined. Then, add the pumpkin, spices, and baking soda. Stir until the ingredients are combined, and then beat the mixture on medium speed for 3 minutes. It will be a lovely light pumpkin-orange color.

Pour the batter into prepared cupcake pans, filling each cupcake paper about 3/4 full. It should fill about 24 cupcake papers.

Bake at 325ºF for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool completely before even thinking about frosting them! Nothing is worse than melted frosting!

Once the cupcakes are completely cool, cream the cream cheese, vanilla, and butter together. Slowly add the powdered sugar while beating the mixture on low speed until you have reached your desired thickness. Then, turn the mixer up to medium speed and whip the frosting for about 30 seconds, just to give it some lightness. Just a note- the frosting recipe will make more frosting than is needed for these cupcakes, but I would rather have more than enough frosting than not enough!

Using either a cake decorating set or a knife, frost the cupcakes. Now it’s time for the caramel drizzle!

Put all the unwrapped caramels in a microwave safe bowl with the milk. Microwave them for 30 seconds, and then stir them. Put them in for another 30 seconds, and then stir them again. Repeat this process until they are fully melted and smooth. Tip: the reason you have to continue heating them for 30 seconds is so that nothing burns, and the milk doesn’t cook. Also, don’t be worried if the caramel foams- that’s normal! 

Using a spoon or a knife, drizzle the caramel sauce over the cupcakes. Be warned: caramel is ridiculously hot and sticky! Try your best not to get it on your fingers, and if you do, run them under cold water- don’t put your fingers in your mouth or else you’ll also burn your mouth!

These cupcakes are so good, and surprisingly easy to make. They look beautiful and make your friends think you worked for hours to make them, but we know better than to make a difficult recipe!

I hope you all try this recipe and enjoy the tastes of fall as much as I do. Happy baking!