Ingredient: meringue powder

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cakes

Summer was such a happy season for me as a child that I didn’t want it to end. I still love summer, but now that I’m an adult, I begin to anticipate fall right around the time when I’m tired of harsh, hot temperatures, rumbling air conditioners and flies buzzing around at cookouts. Now is that time for me. It’s so hot where I live right now, that I’m welcoming the cool, crisp fall weather and all it brings.

The beautiful warm flavors of fall are perfectly captured in these Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cakes. The moist, perfectly spiced cakes are topped with a cinnamon swirl which is basically cinnamon roll filling. I topped them with Vanilla Bean Icing, but you can also make it cream cheese icing by swapping out 1 tablespoon of the melted butter for 1 tablespoon of softened cream cheese, if you prefer. The optional addition of meringue powder helps the icing set up and gives it that crunch we love on glazed donuts. To find meringue powder, click here.

I used a shallow jumbo muffin pan to make these cakes. The muffin cups are 4 inches wide and 1 inch deep. A hamburger bun pan for 4-inch buns or six 4-inch cake pans will also work. To find the pan I used, click here.

To watch the Instagram video of the finished Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cakes, click here.

Print Recipe
 Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cakes
Moist pumpkin cakes with cinnamon swirls and vanilla bean icing
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Keyword cake, pumpkin cinnamon roll
Servings
4-inch cakes
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cakes
Cinnamon Swirl
Vanilla Bean Icing
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Keyword cake, pumpkin cinnamon roll
Servings
4-inch cakes
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cakes
Cinnamon Swirl
Vanilla Bean Icing
Instructions
Pumpkin Cakes
  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line a 6-serving shallow jumbo muffin pan with jumbo muffin liners.* (The jumbo muffin liners will fit by pressing them in around the inside bottom edges.) The muffin pan I used has cups that are 4-inches across by 1-inch deep. A hamburger bun pan for 4-inch buns or six 4-inch cake pans will also work.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla until smooth and well combined. Mix in the pumpkin purée. Stir in the flour in two additions, just until combined.
  4. Transfer the batter to the muffin cups, evenly dividing the batter among the cups. Pipe the cinnamon swirl mixture in a spiral on the top of the batter of each one.
  5. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake part comes out clean, about 23-27 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Cinnamon Swirl
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add the melted butter and whisk until well combined.
  2. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a 1/4-inch wide round tip.
Vanilla Bean Icing
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the butter, vanilla bean paste, powdered sugar, meringue powder, salt and 1 tablespoon of milk until well combined. Whisk in more milk as needed to reach your desired consistency.
  2. Brush the icing on the cooled cakes with a small pastry brush or make the icing a little thinner and drizzle the icing on if you prefer.
Recipe Notes

*To find jumbo muffin liners, click here.

To find the baking pan I used, click here.

To find 4-inch cake pans, click here.

To find meringue powder click here.

Happy Jam Tarts

Happy Jam Tarts

We’ve all needed a little cheering up at times, especially this past past year. These cute, happy tarts won’t take your problems away, but they can certainly make you smile, especially if you make them for someone else. They’re super easy to make and they taste better than the ones in the box we ate as kids. You can use store bought pie dough if you want to streamline the process. Any flavor of jam or preserves you have on hand works too!

Feel free to have fun decorating these little cuties. The possibilities are endless. You can use edible glitter, purchased candy eyes or even add mustaches. Happy baking!

Print Recipe
 Happy Jam Tarts
Jam-filled tarts with icing
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Servings
tarts
Ingredients
Jam Tarts
Icing
Decorations
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Servings
tarts
Ingredients
Jam Tarts
Icing
Decorations
Instructions
Jam Tarts
  1. Preheat oven to 375º.
  2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Roll pie dough onto lightly floured surface. Cut into 8 6-inch by 4-inch rectangles, re-rolling dough as necessary.
  4. Make egg wash by beating egg together with milk in a small bowl.
  5. Spread 2 tablespoons of jam onto right half of each rectangle to within 1/2-inch of edges. Brush edges with egg wash.
  6. Fold dough in half, left side over right. Seal edges by pressing with a fork
  7. Poke several holes in the top of each tart with a toothpick.
  8. Bake until golden, about 15-20 minutes.
  9. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
Icing
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract and salt together until smooth.
  2. Using a toothpick, add food color a little at a time until desired shade is achieved.
  3. Stir in meringue powder, if using.
  4. Spoon icing onto tarts.
  5. Add sprinkles while icing is wet. When icing has set, add eyes, mouths and bows if desired.
Decorations
  1. For the eyes, make 16 1/8-inch balls of black fondant. Flatten slightly. Adhere with a bit of water.
  2. For the mouths, make 8 1/2-inch long, very thin strips of black fondant. Adhere with a tiny bit of water, using tweezers if necessary.
  3. For the bows, roll out blue fondant to 1/16th-inch thickness. Cut out bows using ***bow cutter. Adhere with a bit of water.
Recipe Notes

*To find Wilton Rose gel food color, click here

**To find meringue powder, click here

***To find bow cutter, click here