Happy Halloween!

Halloween sort of snuck up on my this year, but me and Virginia pulled together some last minute costumes, and as promised, I have baked something pumpkin! This recipe I used is adapted from a Martha Stewart pumpkin cupcake recipe that starts with browned butter.
I had never browned butter before, but it's really simple. Just melt the butter (3/4 cup) in a sauce pan...
It will start to foam up for awhile, but eventually settle back down and simmer until it turns a light amber color. Keep stirring, or it will burn!
Then strain out any burned bits (there will be some no matter how obsessively you stir)
Then you have beautiful nutty browned butter! Its time to get to work on the dry ingredients.
1 2/3 cup AP flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Set aside the dry and in another bowl start mixing the wet. 1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree (not pie filling!)
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs

Mix all the wet ingredients together then add the cooled brown butter and mix completely. Add the dry mix to the wet, and stir by hand until just mixed together (don't over mix)

Make sure the oven is pre-heated to 350 degrees, and divide the batter into pans. Originally the recipe was for cupcakes, so if you wish, pour into lined cupcake pans!
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean
This cake bakes up so nicely, with the best combination of flavors I have had in a long time. The nutty brown butter with the pumpkin and spices is perfection. If I knew how good this cake was going to turn out, I would have just left it as a cake and called it a day, but I had bigger plans.

Starting with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. You know this is going somewhere good.
6oz cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice again)

Crumble the cooled cake and get ready to mix.
Cake, meet frosting. Something tells me you're going to have a fabulous relationship together.
Mix together completely, then roll into 1in balls and stick in the fridge overnight. (or the freezer for an hour or so)
After the truffles are chilled, melt up some chocolate or candy melts to cover. I wanted to dress these up for Halloween, and swore I had orange candy melts, but alas I didn't. I did however resort back to my elementary art class knowledge and mixed my red and yellow candy melts to make the perfect pumpkin shade.
Then I needed some black (or very dark chocolaty brown) to complete this Halloween treat.

So I dipped the other half in dark chocolate.

and drizzled the rest over the white chocolate guys.
I had picked up some orange and yellow sanding sugar on sale at Target awhile back and thought it be the perfect addition to these Halloween cake truffles.


Then I found these tiny little pumpkin (looks more like a peach) liners that are perfect for nestling the truffles in.


Delicious moist brown butter pumpkin spice cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting dipped in chocolate. I highly suggest you bake these this fall, and then immediately find people to give them to, because they are addicting! Hope you had a great Halloween!