These pumpkin spice cupcakes are beautifully soft and fluffy pumpkin cupcakes, spiced with warm spices and topped with a deliciously smooth cream cheese frosting.
Is it really fall until you've eaten Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes? I think not. These babies are beautifully soft and fluffy and full of pumpkin spice flavour and topped with a deliciously smooth cream cheese frosting. This fall recipe is quick and easy to make and will be loved by both kids and adults.
In the bakery, we used to start whipping up pumpkin spice cupcakes in September and the entire kitchen would smell of cinnamon all the way through to Christmas! The smell of these still reminds me of that every time I make them. If you're loving the pumpkin flavors, check out my Pumpkin Crème Brûlée recipe!
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What is Pumpkin Spice?
I'm sure you've heard of Pumpkin Spice, but what actually IS pumpkin spice? It's typically a blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and 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!
Ingredients
Butter - It's best to use unsalted butter in baking so you can control the amount of salt you add. But it's fine to use salted butter if that's what you have on hand. Just make sure you leave out the additional salt in the recipe if you do
Sugars - These pumpkin spice cupcakes use a mixture of white sugar and golden sugar. I find this just gives it a hint of a more caramelised flavour, which lends itself to fall baking flavours
Eggs - Make sure they are large eggs, and I always recommend using Free Range. Always,
All-purpose Flour - Regular old flour is fine for these cupcakes. Just make sure you don't skip the sieving as it will help. keep your pumpkin spice cupcakes nice and light
Pumpkin Puree - Make sure you get pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie filling - they are very different! For this recipe the smaller cans (about 400g) are just right
Spices - You can't have pumpkin spice cupcakes without pumpkin spices! Ground Cinnamon, Ground Ginger and Ground Nutmeg make up this delicious flavour. You can add ground cloves if you like!
Vegetable Oil - This just 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. (I don't recommend olive oil as it has a very distinctive taste)
Milk - Whole milk is best, but other milks will do
Instructions
These pumpkin spice cupcakes may look like a sophisticated fall bake, but they are so easy to make! It's just a basic cupcake recipe using the creaming method, but with the pumpkin and spices thrown into the middle.
Creaming butter and sugars - start by beating the butter, white sugar and golden sugar together on high speed. The aim here is not only to combine them, but to start creating some air bubbles in the butter, using the flour. When creamed for long enough, it should be lighter in colour and fluffier in texture
Add Eggs - keep beating on a medium speed while you add the eggs, one at a time. I always crack my eggs into a separate bowl first, to make sure no egg shells get into my batter
Add Pumpkin - often when you add the pumpkin the batter may look curdled. Don't panic! It will come back together nicely as soon as you add the flour
Add Spices - this is really the time to taste test and see if you want a stronger pumpkin spice flavour, you have to measure that stuff with your heart!
Add Flour - two things to keep in mind. 1 - always sieve your flour to create more air and lightness in your pumpkin spice cupcakes. 2 - add half the flour first, then the liquids, then the remaining flour
Add Milk and Oil - make sure the flour is totally incorporated before adding the liquid, or else you'll end up with gluey blobs in your batter
Optional Extra - Add a Pumpkin Spice Curd Filling to your Cupcakes
These pumpkin spice cupcakes are phenomenal as they are. But if you want to take it one step further and add an extra hit of fall flavour in there, you can core out the middle of the cupcakes after they have cooled using a cupcake corer and fill them with my Pumpkin Spice Curd recipe. 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!
Decorating with Cream Cheese Frosting
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes and Cream Cheese Frosting were seriously a match made in heaven. I used my classic cream cheese frosting for these which you can get the recipe for here.
Once your cream cheese frosting is ready you can use a piping bag and a star 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!
Tips for making the Cream Cheese Frosting
Make sure ingredients are at room temperature - if the cream cheese and/or butter are too cold when you try to make this, you will end up with lumps in your frosting. No bueno.
Beat the cream cheese and butter first - I like to put just the cream cheese in my bowl and beat it for a minute or two just to soften it further before adding anything else. Then I add the butter to that and cream them together for another minute before adding the icing sugar. It makes beautifully smooth cream cheese frosting
Add icing sugar in batches - I tend to add my icing sugar about a third at a time. Mostly so it doesn't make a mushroom cloud of icing sugar all over my kitchen, but also because it helps to make sure everything incorporates and there is less chance of big patches of icing sugar getting stuck to the bowl
Keep beating - even once everything is incorporated, I like to keep beating my cream cheese frosting on high for about 5 minutes. This just makes everything smoother, softer and easier to work with. Trust me with this trick!
Add Vanilla on top of icing sugar - I always pour my vanilla on top of my last batch of icing sugar, as it helps it to mix in more easily and prevents the icing from going everywhere
Once your cream cheese frosting is ready you can use a piping bag and a star 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!
Want more Fall Baking Recipes?
Oh I've got you covered! If these pumpkin spice cupcakes give you a taste for fall baking recipes, you should check out my:
Maple Pecan Bundt Cake
Pumpkin Crème Brûlée
Cinnamon Swirl Muffins
Recipe
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 2 sticks Butter
- 1 cup White Sugar
- 1 cup Golden Sugar (light brown sugar)
- 4 Eggs
- 1 small can Pumpkin Puree about 200g
- 2 ¾ cups All-purpose Flour
- 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ cup Vegetable Oil
- ½ cup Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 4 teaspoon Cinnamon plus extra for sprinkling
- 2 teaspoon Nutmeg
- 2 teaspoon Ginger
- 1 batch Cream Cheese Frosting
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 fluffy2 sticks Butter, 1 cup White Sugar, 1 cup Golden Sugar
- Add eggs, one at a time and mix until combined4 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 added1 small can Pumpkin Puree, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Add the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt to the mix and stir in4 teaspoon Cinnamon, 2 teaspoon Nutmeg, 2 teaspoon Ginger, ½ teaspoon Salt
- Sieve the flour into a bowl with the baking powder and baking soda2 ¾ cups All-purpose Flour, 1 tablespoon Baking Powder, 1 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 combined¼ cup Vegetable Oil, ½ cup 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
- Pipe or dollop cream cheese frosting onto the tops of the cupcakes and finish with a sprinkle of cinnamon
Chris Radwanski
Yummy