Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes - beautifully moist pumpkin cupcakes with warm spices and a deliciously smooth cream cheese frosting.
I've spent years baking and experimenting with pumpkin desserts - trying out different spice mixes, pumpkin purées, and frosting tricks to get this pumpkin spicde cupcake recipe just right. When I had my bakery, the whole kitchen would smell like pumpkin spice from August through November every year! The result is a pumpkin cupcake that's perfectly balanced in flavour and texture, and bakes up fluffy and moist every time.
In this recipe, I'll take you through exactly how to get that perfect texture, how to balance the spices, and how to make a cream cheese frosting that complements the warmth of the cupcakes. Get ready to meet your new favorite fall-time treat!
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Why You'll Love This Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe
- Small, cute, and pumpkin spice-flavored - they are the perfect fall treat!
- They are the best pumpkin cupcakes - super moist and flavorful
- Great for holiday season parties or just as a tasty snack
Ingredients for This Pumpkin Cupcakes Recipe
These easy pumpkin spice cupcakes use the same ingredients as my Pumpkin Cake. You'll probably have most of them at home already.
Butter - Either use unsalted butter or leave out the extra salt in the recipe if you use salted butter.
Sugars - These pumpkin spice cupcakes use a mixture of white sugar and light brown sugar. I find this just gives it a hint of a more caramelized flavor, which lends itself to fall baking flavors
Eggs - Large eggs, free range if possible.
Flour - All-purpose flour helps to give these the right amount of structure and fluffiness.
Pumpkin Purée - Make sure you get canned pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie filling - they are very different!
Spices - You can't have pumpkin spice cupcakes without pumpkin spices! Ground Cinnamon, Ground Ginger and Ground Nutmeg make up this pumpkin spice mix. Or you can use your favorite pre-made pumpkin pie spice.
Vanilla - Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste gives a lovely base to these pumpkin cupcakes.
Vegetable Oil - This helps give the sponge an extra hit of moisture and keeps them nice and soft for longer. If you don't have vegetable oil you can use canola oil or any other unflavoured oil.
Milk - Milk makes the cupcakes extra fluffy. Whole milk is best but any kind will do the trick.
Cream Cheese - For best results, use a block of full-fat cream cheese and not the spreadable kind in a tub.
Powdered Sugar - Also known as confectioners sugar or icing sugar. You can adjust the amount of this depending on how sweet/thick you want the cream cheese icing to be.
Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature before beginning.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Recommended Equipment
- Cupcake Pans - Regular sized 12-cup muffin pans or cupcake pans
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Mixer - I recommend using an electric mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment to make this pumpkin spice cupcakes recipe, but it is possible to do it by hand.
- Large Cookie Scoop - I find this to be the easiest way to scoop my batter into the muffin liners - it's a great option to make sure all the cupcakes are the same size.
How to Make Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
This is the only pumpkin cupcake recipe you will ever need! They are so easy to make and turn out great every time.
Cream
Cream the butter and both sugars together on high speed until fluffy.
Add Eggs
Turn the mixer down to medium speed and add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each one.
Add Pumpkin
Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla and mix until combined. Don't worry if the cupcake batter looks curdled at this stage.
Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients including flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices. Mix to combine
Stir half of the flour mixture into the cupcake batter.
Wet Ingredients
Add the milk and oil to the batter and slowly mix in until incorporated. Then add the remaining flour and mix on low speed until combined.
Bake
Scoop or spoon batter into cupcake pans lined with cupcake liners, filling them ¾ full, and bake in a preheated oven at 350°F / 180°C for 18-20 minutes.
Let them sit in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tip: I always recommend weighing your ingredients with a kitchen scale, rather than using measuring cups. It's very difficult to measure accurately with cups and this can mess up your bakes.
Add a Pumpkin Filling
These easy pumpkin cupcakes are phenomenal as they are. But if you want to take it one step further and add an extra hit of fall flavor in there, you can core out the middle of the cooled cupcakes using a cupcake corer and fill them with this easy Pumpkin Spice Curd.
I came up with this recipe when I made Pumpkin Pavlova, and I've been putting it in EVERYTHING ever since - it is absolutely delicious!
Alternatively, these pumpkin cupcakes also go really nicely with a delicious caramel sauce filling.
Decorating Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
Pumpkin cupcakes and cream cheese frosting are a match made in heaven. I used my classic cream cheese frosting recipe, but these would also go great with cinnamon cream cheese frosting or brown butter cream cheese frosting.
Once your cream cheese frosting is ready, you can use a piping bag and a star piping tip to pipe swirls as I did, or you can use a spoon or knife to dollop your frosting on top and shape it how you like. Both look good and both taste amazing!
Finish with a little sprinkle of cinnamon - it looks elegant and it gives you an instant hit of that fall scent as soon as you lift the cupcake to your face! Or drizzle with some homemade caramel for an extra indulgent look.
Note:
Cream cheese frosting varies in consistency depending on what kind of cream cheese you use and how much powdered sugar is added.
If you want to pipe swirls, you'll need a nice firm frosting, so you may need to add some extra powdered sugar to achieve this.
Pumpkin Cupcake Variations
These pumpkin spice cupcakes are pretty great already, but here are a few ideas for what else you could do with the recipe:
- Choc Chip Pumpkin Cupcakes - Add some chocolate chips to the pumpkin cupcake batter for some extra indulgence. This combination works beautifully in my pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe!
- Add a filling - Core out the center of the cupcakes and add a filling like my pumpkin curd, or homemade caramel sauce.
- Different frosting - Try these with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, brown butter frosting, or chantilly cream (sweet whipped cream)
How to Store Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
Store your unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature. Once they have cream cheese frosting on them they will need to be stored in the refrigerator. They will be good for 3-5 days.
FAQ
I'm sure you've heard of Pumpkin Spice, but what actually IS pumpkin spice? It's typically a blend of spices including ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves.
Personally, I don't like cloves, so I tend to leave them out of my Pumpkin Spice recipes, but feel free to add in a teaspoon or two if that's your jam!
I don't recommend using homemade pumpkin puree for this recipe as it is often too wet. If you do want to use fresh pumpkin, make sure you remove as much of the liquid as possible or you risk messing up the consistency of the cupcakes.
Yes! In fact, I already did! Check out my Pumpkin Cake recipe for exact instructions.
Want more Pumpkin Recipes?
Oh, I've got you covered! If these cupcakes give you a taste for all things pumpkin, you should check out some of these pumpkin desserts:
Recipe
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- 227 g (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter 227g
- 200 g (1 cup) Granulated Sugar 200g
- 220 g (1 cup) Light Brown Sugar 220g
- 4 (4 Large) Eggs
- 425 g (1 can) Pumpkin Puree 15oz / 425g
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 330 g (2 ¾ cups) All-purpose Flour 330g
- 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoon) Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon (½ teaspoon) Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 3 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
- 1 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 55 g (¼ cup) Vegetable Oil 55g / 60ml
- 120 g (½ cup) Whole Milk 120g / 120ml
- 227 g (8 oz) Cream Cheese 227g (room temperature, see notes)
- 113 g (1 stick) Unsalted Butter 113g (room temperature)
- 480 g (4 cups) Powdered Sugar 480g (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 180 °C and put cupcake liners in a muffin pan
- Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy227 g (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, 200 g (1 cup) Granulated Sugar, 220 g (1 cup) Light Brown Sugar
- Add eggs, one at a time and mix until combined4 (4 Large) Eggs
- Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla, mix until totally combined. If the mixture looks curdled after adding the pumpkin, don't panic, it will smooth out once the flour is added425 g (1 can) Pumpkin Puree, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Add the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt to the mix and stir in3 tsp Ground Cinnamon, 1 tsp Ground Nutmeg, 2 tsp Ground Ginger, ½ tsp Salt
- Sieve the flour into a bowl with the baking powder and baking soda330 g (2 ¾ cups) All-purpose Flour, 1 tbsp (3 teaspoon) Baking Powder, 1 tsp (½ teaspoon) Baking Soda
- Put half the flour into the batter and fold in slowly until completely combined
- Pour in the vegetable oil and milk and stir until combined55 g (¼ cup) Vegetable Oil, 120 g (½ cup) Whole Milk
- Fold in the remaining flour, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl
- Scoop into cupcake liners - they should be about ¾ full
- Bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until tops are springy and a skewer comes out clean
- Let cool completely before frosting
- OPTIONAL: If you want to add an extra something special, you can core out the middle before frosting and fill with some of my Pumpkin Spice Curd
- Beat the room temperature butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy.227 g (8 oz) Cream Cheese, 113 g (1 stick) Unsalted Butter
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and slowly mix until incorporated.480 g (4 cups) Powdered Sugar, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Beat on high speed for 1-2 minutes.
- Decorate the cupcakes and top with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Chris Radwanski
Yummy