One thing leads to another

On an ordinary shopping day, on a whim Hannah and I decided to stop into World Market. 

I found this mini cake pan.  It's a new favorite to be sure.

When I saw it, all I could think was, "wouldn't it make the cutest little tea party cakes, or festive treats for a baby shower, or Christmasy gingerbread cakes?"

. . . 

That lead me to searching for recipes.  
I found this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Latte cupcakes on Pinterest. 
It's delicious and "free"!  (gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, sugar free.)

1-3/4 c. almond flour
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. potato starch (not potato flour)
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. finely ground espresso
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt 
1/2 c. pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling - see my post here.)
1/2 canned "lite" coconut milk
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup 

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients.  Blend together with a whisk to completely combine the dry ingredients. (almond flour, potato starch, pumpkin pie spice, ground espresso, baking powder, and salt.)
In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. (pumpkin puree, coconut milk, and maple syrup.) Stir until smooth.  Pour over the dry ingredients and stir really well until smooth and there are no lumps in the batter and thickens up some. 
Pour the batter into a cupcake pan lined with ONLY 8 papers, or a super cute mini cake pan sprayed with non-stick spray.  :-)
Bake for 20-22 minutes or until tests done with a toothpick.  
Let cool 1 hour before icing.

Optional Whipped Icing
1 can full-fat coconut milk, chilled overnight.
1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 Tbsp. melted liquid coconut butter.

For the icing:
Carefully open the can and scoop out just the thickened white cream, just 1/2 cup. Don't add any of the water.  Add it to a bowl and whip it for 5 minutes until light and fluffy and soft peaks form on our chilled beaters.  Add the syrup and vanilla and beat again for a minute. 
Lastly, add the liquid coconut butter and whip just a few seconds until it is mixed and fluffy.  Add the icing to a Ziploc bag, cut off the corner and pipe it on the cupcakes.  

*Our icing didn't fluff up, probably because our coconut milk was not refrigerated overnight, but only a couple of hours.  It behaved more like drizzling icing - still delicious though.  

. . . 

Which lead me to think how much I love this simple kitchen tool....the cookie scoop.  We use it all the time.  Of course, it's useful for scooping out uniform cookie dough, but it is also perfect for scooping muffin or cupcake batter to make them uniform in size too.  I even use it when making meatballs.  
I love this tool. 

 So there you have it - 3 favorite things in all my randomness.