These are great simply frosted with cream cheese frosting, but we pipe
some frosting inside the muffin as well. For Halloween, these muffins
dressed up as pumpkins.

Pumpkin Muffins
Makes 6 muffins
Batter:
1 ¼ cups + 3 tablespoons (200 grams) All-purpose flour
½ teaspoon (2.3 grams) Baking soda
¾ + 1/8 teaspoon (2.2 grams) Ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon (0.6 gram) Ground cloves
½ teaspoon (0.5 gram) Freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch (0.1 gram) Ground allspice
½ teaspoon (1 gram) Kosher salt
1 cup + 2 teaspoons (222 grams) Granulated sugar
¼ cup + 3 tablespoons (100 grams) Canola oil
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (210 grams) Pure canned pumpkin puree or fresh pumpkin puree
¼ cup + 2 ½ tablespoons (100 grams) Eggs
½ cup + ½ tablespoon (80 grams) Golden raisins (optional)
1 ¼ cups (286 grams) Cream Cheese Frosting

You’ll need a 6-inch jumbo muffin pan, muffin papers, a disposable pastry bag, a pastry bag with an Ateco #865 French star tip (optional), and a 1 3/8 inch round cutter (optional).

For the batter: Place the flour in a medium bowl. Sift in the baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. Add the salt and whisk to combine.

Combine the sugar and oil in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and mix on low for about one minute. Add the pumpkin, increase the speed to medium-low, and mix for about one minute, until smooth. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs in 2 additions, mixing for about 15 seconds after each, or until just combined.

Add the dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing for about 15 seconds after each, or until just combined.

Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any dry ingredients that may have settled there. Fold in the raisins, if using. Transfer the batter to a covered container and refrigerate overnight, or for up to 36 hours.

To bake the muffins: Preheat the oven to 425°F (standard). Line the muffin pan with muffin papers and spray the papers with non-stick spray.

Transfer the batter to the disposable pastry bag and cut ½ inch of the tip from the bag; or use a large spoon. Pipe or spoon the batter into the papers, stopping ½ inch from the top (140 grams each).

Put the pan in the oven, lower the temperature to 325°F, and bake for 45 to 48 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Set the pan on a cooling rack and cool completely.

To fill the muffins: Using the round cutter, cut through the top of each muffin, stopping ½ inch from the bottom, and carefully remove the center (or use a paring knife to remove the centers).

Transfer the frosting to the pastry bag with the star tip and fill the cavity of each muffin with 35 grams/2 ½ tablespoons of the frosting. Then pipe a rosette in the center of each muffin. Refrigerate uncovered for about 30 minutes to firm.

The muffins are best the day they are completed, but they can be refrigerated in a covered container for up to 3 days. Unfilled muffins can be wrapped individually in a few layers of plastic wrap or stored in a single layer in a covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days of frozen for up to a week.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 572 grams/2 ½ cups

453 grams | 1 pound Cream cheese at room temperature
152 grams | 1 ¼ cups + 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
¼ vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Place the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, add the sugar, and pulse on the lowest speed to combine. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean, add them to the mixture, and mix for 2 to 3 minutes, until completely smooth.

The frosting can be used at this point or refrigerated for up to 3 days. If it has been refrigerated, let it sit at room temperature until just cool to the touch, then transfer to a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until smooth.

Decorated Pumpkin Muffins
Powdered sugar for dusting
Pumpkin Fondant:
900 to 1000 grams | 2 to 2.2 pounds White rolling fondant
5 to 6 drops Yellow food coloring
8 to 15 drops Orange food coloring
1 to ½ drops Red food coloring
450 grams | 2 cups Cream Cheese Frosting
6 Pumpkin Muffins
6 cinnamon sticks or licorice sticks

You’ll need a traditional or fondant rolling pin, six 3-inch cardboard rounds (optional), and a gum paste/fondant tool kit (optional). For this recipe, we use Carma white rolling fondant and Chefmaster Liqua-Gel Lemon Yellow, Sunset Orange, and Christmas Red food coloring.

For the pumpkin fondant: Dust the work surface lightly with powdered sugar. Flatten 900 grams/2 pounds fondant on the surface and squeeze 5 drops of yellow food coloring, 8 drops orange, and 1 drop red onto it. Fold the fondant over and press down on the edges to seal, then begin pulling the ends of the fondant to stretch it (like taffy). Twist the fondant, then roll it into a log under your palms. Repeat the steps until the color is solid with no streaks. If you would like a different shade of orange, add another drop of yellow food coloring, up to 7 more drops of orange, or another H drop of red. If the color becomes too dark, knead in additional fondant to lighten it.

Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
To complete: Dust the work surface lightly with powdered sugar. Divide the fondant into 6 portions (150 grams each). Roll 1 piece into an 8-inch round, just under J inch thick. Center the round of fondant over a muffin, letting it drape over the sides. Press your fingertip gently into the center of the muffin to form an indentation for the stem.

If any of the fondant is overlapping at the base of the muffin, lift it to remove the overlap. Cup your hands around the muffin. Gently press the fondant against the muffin, turning the muffin to encase it in the fondant. The fondant should extend about 1 inch below the bottom of the muffin, but the underside of the muffin should not be covered. With your hands still cupped, apply more pressure around the bottom of the muffin and continue turning to form a pumpkin shape. Using a paring knife, trim away the fondant from the bottom of the muffin. If you have the 3-inch cardboard rounds, place the muffin on a round. Use the heel of your hand to smooth the bottom of the pumpkin as needed. Using a gum paste/fondant tool, the edge of a Popsicle stick, or a chopstick, press 7 equidistant vertical lines around the pumpkin, working from the stem end to the center and then from the center to the base, to resemble the natural lines on a pumpkin.
Repeat with the remaining fondant and muffins. Push a cinnamon or licorice stick into the top of each muffin. The muffins can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Note to Professionals: We also decorate these with acorns made from gum paste and with additional licorice sticks.

Excerpted from Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2012. Photographs by Deborah Jones.

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