Cupcake of the Month for November

It's November 1st and the latest edition of Cupcake Spotlight!  I can not take credit for this recipe, as it was told to me years ago. I can take credit for the frosting and garnish combination with the cupcake.  So for a little history on the cake portion. I was at a craft show about four years ago, and while having a conversation with customer, we got on the subject of baking.  She had recently lost a lot of weight, but confessed her love of sweets.  She told me to make a simple cake, just take one package of spice cake mix and add one can of pumpkin puree, mix and bake according to package instructions for a bundt.  A couple of weeks later I did.  The recipe is delicious and super moist.  I liked that fact it had no egg or oil, making it heart healthy as well.

Over the years I have shared this recipe with a slew of people.  Friends have tried it and added powder sugar to the top or a cream cheese drizzle.  I even had one person add chocolate chips and said it fabulous.  I decided to make it into cupcakes topped with an orange cream cheese frosting, garnished with a candied orange peel.  This recipe is easy and a big crowd pleaser.  Go ahead and try it for Thanksgiving instead of the traditional pumpkin pie, it will be a hit!

Linking to these parties.

Candied Orange Peel

This post might seem a bit strange. I am giving instructions for candied orange peels, but you can use lemon or grapefruit peels too. The only clue I will give for this post is, you will need this for November 1st.  What happens on November 1st???? Cupcake of the month.

I work on the cupcake on the month about two months ahead of time.  I knew exactly what recipe I was using for the cake back in August, but I was toying with the garnish for bit.  Then I decided on candied orange peel to compliment the flavors in the frosting.

After researching instructions on it, I decided on Giada DeLaurentiis's method.  It was simple and only took about 45 minutes from start to finish. The result is yummy, and my husband requested a whole container of them to snack on.

To garnish eighteen cupcakes I used one orange.  Simply remove only the orange peel from an orange.  Be careful not to remove the pith. I used a citrus peeler and it worked beautifully.  Then cut the peel into thin strips about 1/2 inch wide.

Then bring about two cups of water to a boil and blanch the orange peels for about one minute. Drain, rinse the peels in cold water, and repeat this process.

In a small pot, combine 3/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water until dissolved. On medium heat, cook the orange peels until they become translucent. About 20 minutes.

Roll the orange peels in sugar to coat, and allow to dry on a cooling rack.

This is a great garnish for cakes or cupcakes. You can also dip half of the peel in melted chocolate.  Store the peels in an airtight container for a week or freeze for several months.