Made these with the kids tonight and they were excellent. The recipe made far more than 24 cupcakes, so I made some baked donuts and mini donuts too and tossed them in powdered sugar. This is basically the same frosting recipe I always use and it's always decadent and delicious. It suits the pumpkin flavor well. I have another pumpkin cake recipe that has a much stronger flavor. This is mild and good for kids who aren't sure about pumpkin cupcakes. They're light, moist, sweet and great for using fall pumpkins. So much better than junk from a box. :)

I was searching for the "right" pumpkin spice cupcake recipe for my granddaughter's first birthday party. I made several different recipes before deciding this was the best. I used a different recipe for the frosting and I think that was what sent this over the top. Try adding 2-3 oz. of melted white chocolate and 2 tbsp. of heavy cream to the given recipe and you will definitively see a big difference. The only other thing I did was sift the confectioners' sugar to make the frosting very smooth and creamy.

Remember the olden days when you could buy the moisted and yummiest apple cupcakes EVER. This is the pumpkin version on that. Fantastic.