Cupcakes!!

In honor of Trent's birthday, which was yesterday, I volunteered to bake birthday treats. Cupcakes are always a big hit, so I went with a seasonal recipe. Don't tell anyone I started with a cake mix! Not just any cake mix, mind you, I am loyal to Duncan Hines. For these I used a Duncan Hines Spice cake mix, followed the lower fat baking instructions, and instead of applesauce, I substituted pumpkin. Yum.

The frosting, however, was home made. I avoid the ready-made frosting in a tub. Too many chemical sounding ingredients. And what goes better on a pumpkin spice cupcake than cream cheese frosting! And although my tendinitis plagued hands were very tired after all that piping, squeezing a pastry bag full of frosting turned out to be excellent post-surgical therapy. Like squeezing a stress ball, only tastier.

And here we have the final product, festively decorated for the fall. If you ask me, the only thing better than a cupcake with cream cheese frosting is one with candy on top.