Pumpkin Cupcakes with Sage Frosting

Read about this cupcake hero thing over at Quirky Cupcake and thought I would try my luck.

Cupcakes:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

5 oz butter

1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs

2/3 cup buttermilk

1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups drained merlot cranberries (recipe below)

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg; set aside.

Beat butter on medium speed until creamy. Add brown and white sugars and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with buttermilk. Add vanilla and pumpkin puree and beat until incorporated. Fold in merlot cranberries.

Divide into muffin pan. Bake in a preheated over at 325 F. until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool.

Frosting:

1 lb cream cheese, room temp

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sage scented cream (recipe below)

Beat cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar until fluffy. Slowly beat in sage scented cream. Spead onto cooled cakes.

Merlot cranberries:

2 cups merlot

2 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups dried cranberries

Add merlot and sugar to saucepot. Bring to a boil and reduce until mixture has thicked (like pancake syrup). Add dried cranberries. Cool to room temp. 1 1/2 cups goes into cupcake batter. The remaining 1 cup is used to garnish the tops of frosted cupcakes. Drizzle merlot syrup on top.

Sage Scented Cream:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

4 large sage leaves

Add cream to a saucepot. Chop sage and add to cream. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Put in a covered container and chill for several hours. Strain.