Halloween is so looked forward to by so many enthusiastic people all around the world. Though most of the times, when I schedule my calendar, I miss out on quite a few important festivals. I am seriously engrossed in my work only this year if I remember well . Hopefully, I will try streamlining that part of ignoring one whole scope of life.

Pumpkins go hand in hand with Thanks giving and Halloween in the United States, as it is being harvested during the end of October. Pumpkins are highly nutritious and are used in versatile dishes, but for bakers it will be apt to make cupcakes and to make it Halloween, dress it up like cute mummies.

Ideally pumpkin cakes go well with cream cheese frosting like how it is a tradition with carrot and red velvet cakes. But today I wanted to make flavoured/spiced truffle and then transform the truffle into a mousse to make some gorgeous pairing with the pumpkin cupcakes.

To add some drama those are few hand made edible pumpkins

1. Line up a 12 inch cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Pre-heat oven to 180 degree C. Sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

2. Take 2 tablespoons of the measured granulated white sugar, add all the spices and process in your small jar food processor and sieve it. This is to make your own spice mix powder. Mix this together with the sugars.

3. Add butter in the bowl of your electric beater. Beat until butter becomes light and fluffy. Add both the sugars along with the spice and beat on high speed for 5 minutes until it becomes creamy, pale and fluffy.

4. Add the pumpkin puree, ( I missed to strain the puree here in the picture. That whole batch sunk down with too much liquid, then I re-did the whole thing with strained puree, discarding the liquid). Beat on high speed until combined. If it might look curdled at this stage, don’t worry it will settle down.

5. Add the eggs one at a time, beat for 2 minutes on medium high speed after the addition of each egg. If eggs are not beaten for this long, the batter will still look curdled. So beat until it becomes soft and fluffy.

6. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture and beat on medium speed just until incorporated.

7. Add the milk and beat just until incorporated. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat just until incorporated.

8. Scoop the batter into the prepared cupcake liners. Bake in pre-heated oven for 18 minutes to 20 minutes until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

9. Cool the cupcakes on wire rack.

Spiced White Chocolate Mousse:

1. Heat the cream along with the spices on medium heat in a heavy bottomed sauce pan.

2. Heat up until it starts to boil. Switch off the stove and keep the cream covered with a lid for 30 minutes, for the flavours to seep.

3. Heat the cream again and pour the hot cream over grated white chocolate. Mix it gently until the chocolate melts completely. You can microwave or double boil if the white chocolate does not melt completely. If you still find lumps of white chocolate, sieve the ganache and strain off the spice too. Let cool completely and refrigerate for 2 hours.

4. Whip up the cooled white ganache on medium high speed for 3 minutes, until it becomes fluffy and creamy. Add the heavy whipping cream and beat on medium high speed.

5. Whip up until it you find stiff peaks. Once done, fill a piping bag fitted with a basket weave nozzle.

6. Pipe your cupcakes once completely cooled down, into cute mummies. Use chocolate chips for the eyes.

Happy Halloween