Impossible Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes
- October 14, 2009
- Cakes - Cupcakes, Pies, Recipes
- 90 comments
Pumpkin pie is one of my favorite autumn treats and I make it often once the weather starts to get cool, but I also like to try and find new twists to put on it to keep it interesting. Pumpkin pie bars and chocolate pumpkin pie are some of my favorite variations. This year, I set out to put pumpkin pie in a cupcake form, something that could easily be eaten by hand but still had that custardy feel of a real pumpkin pie. Plus, it’s always nice to have another cupcake recipe around.
This cupcake recipe is based on an impossible pie recipe. Impossible pie is a concept that is a popular “back of the box” recipe for baking mixes, like bisquick. These “pies” have a little bit of flour in their mix that turns into a firm, crust-like outer layer around the filling in just the same way as this crustless quiche recipe. I incorporated enough flour and leavening into the cupcake batter that a firmer shell forms around the more custardy pumpkin pie center, make these easy to eat and handle, but delivering that familiar pumpkin pie texture and flavor.
The cupcakes will fall as they cool because of their slightly dense pumpkin pie center, so don’t worry as you seem the start to deflate after you take them out of the oven. I prefer these chilled, just as I like my pumpkin pies. As soon as they’re at room temperature, pop them into the fridge until you’re ready to serve. Serve these topped with some whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Granted, the real pie is a little bit more custardy and I do like the crispness of a good crust on a pie, but you can’t beat the ease of being able to take a portion of pumpkin pie wherever you go. If you have silicone cupcake liners, you’ll be able to pop the mini pies out easily, but they can also be served with regular paper liners (easier to handle).
Impossible Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup half and half (or evaporated milk)
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or silicone liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice
In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and half and half until well combined. Add in dry ingredients and whisk until no streaks of flour remain and batter is smooth.
Fill each muffin cup with approximately 1/3 cup of batter.
Bake for 20 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan. They will sink as they cool.
Chill cupcakes before serving. Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
Makes 12
90 Comments
These were a big hit! I sent my niece the recipe and she tried it first. At her suggestion, I added more spices. In addition to the pumpkin pie spice, I added a teaspoon each of cinnamon, ginger and cloves as well as 1/2 tsp of allspice and nutmeg. We just like a little more zing.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!
I can not WAIT until Fall to make these – they sound amazing!
I dont know what i did but the cupcakes didn’t taste like anything.
I’ve just made these and they look and smell absolutely delicious!! I’ve got to wait for them to cool, then chill them and it’s tasting time! Hope they taste as good as they look right now =)
Oh. My. God. These are PERFECT! I’m forever saving this recipe. Thank you!!
Oh wow, these look delicious! I will be making them in the very near future! = )
These are so so good. I’m going to try to use this to create a coconut flour recipe!
I put these in the oven for 20 minutes and they aren’t even close to being done. Maybe I did something wrong, but they still need about 20 more minutes of baking. Are they supposed to be soft like pie filling all the way through? Maybe my oven just isn’t hot enough. I hope they start baking! I’ve really been looking forward to these!
Taylor – Yes, they are supposed to be custard-like all the way through, much like the filling of a pumpkin pie. The benefit to these is that they’re single-servings and are much quicker to make than a traditional pumpkin pie!
I would definitely not make them with paper liners again! They were delicious, but the paper liner didn’t want to peel away without tearing the fragile cake.
Omg, so good though. I ate 7 in two days!!
These are AMAZING! I LOVE pumpkin pie – but I could always do without the crust. This is totally replacing pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving this year. I used paper liners, and they peeled away fine – just in a few pieces. When serving to guests, I will probably peel away the paper liner beforehand and set them on a tray. Also, I think they were even more delicious 2-3 days later. So, I could make these way ahead of time to serve. Bonus! I may try a gluten free version too. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Do you think there might be a dairy free option to the half and half. I’d love to make these for my daughter’s class, but my daughter has a dairy issue . . .
THESE LOOK AMAZING and i have been waiting to try them! but i also think they need to bake a little more than 20 minutes… i’m no pie expert but they still look totally liquidy. maybe it is just me though.
you definitely need to fill them more than 1/3 full. I did 1/3 & it only baked up to 1/2 of the muffin cup, I was hoping for a full size muffin. also the taking the paper off ripped the cupcake apart. in a nutshell, i followed exact directions & mine looked nothing like the picture.
@ Robin- the directions say 1/3 cup batter, not 1/3 full. I almost made that mistake earlier.
Mine are cooking in the oven! Can’t wait to taste! They smell GREAT!
These look great, but I have no idea what mix of spices you mean by “pumpkin pie spice. ” I have a bunch of spices that I’d like to use and and would love to avoid the expense of yet another costly little glass jar that will sit on the shelf and grow stale as I wait for another pumpkin pie requirement in my life. Could you give the alternative in terms of real spices? It would be so wonderful and reduce costs, a necessary consideration in these times.
Neat – If you click the link on Pumpkin Pie Spice, you’ll find my instructions for how to make your own spice mix. It’s easy and you’ll get a lot of use out of it for holiday baking:
http://bakingbites.com/2007/10/make-your-own-apple-and-pumpkin-pie-spice-mixes/
If you spray the cupcake liners with veg oil or any baking spray, the cake will come out easier, also any run overs won’t stick