Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
These pumpkin cupcakes are super light and moist, topped with a fluffy cinnamon cream cheese frosting, leaving these to be the best pumpkin cupcakes ever!
So I’ve made three pumpkin recipes this week. I think I can officially say that I’ve become a pumpkin addict. But that’s only because I’ve been deprived of pumpkin goodies from January until now so it’s only natural, right? But before I get into these glorious, most amazing to-die-for pumpkin cupcakes, I’ve been dying to share my IFBC-Seattle trip with you all!
Seattle is a beautiful city. It was my first time there and I absolutely loved it. We stayed at the W Hotel all weekend, which was conveniently next to Pike Place Market, the most amazing market of all. I was only in Seattle for 2 nights and 3 days and I went to market about 6 times. No joke.
I mean with the giant crab legs, humongous avocados the size of your head, beautiful flowers and gorgeous produce, wouldn’t you want to live here?
And you know I couldn’t leave Seattle without trying a Piroshky. Now I’m sure you’re probably wondering what the hell a piroshky is. It’s a hand held pie, but not just any kind of pie. These savory, cheesy hand held pies just melt in your mouth, with its buttery, flaky crust. AH-MAZING.
There’s also the very first original Starbucks, which was open in 1971 along with the topless, raunchy logo. We actually thought it was open in 1912 but apparently that was just the address of the store.
And then there’s the gum wall. It’s disgusting but hey, it’s a form of art, right?
And the last touristy thing we had to do was visit the Space Needle, which I kept calling the Spinning Needle. I think I was just too excited to come here. We didn’t get to go to the top because there was an hour long wait and it cost about $20-30. Was I naive to think that everyone was just free to go up to the top without waiting in line and having to pay a dime?
I really did love this city, so much that Jason and I are planning a vacation to go back there in January! But enough about Seattle – let’s talk cupcakes!
Other than my need to devour these cupcakes for breakfast, I’ve actually teamed up with OXO to Bake a Difference for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a non-profit organization raising funds for research to develop new, improved treatments for pediatric cancer, the #1 disease killer of children in the U.S. And with every blog post in support of this campaign, OXO will be donating $100! You can also help by purchasing any OXO Baking Tools that are marked with this green sticker, in which OXO will donate $0.25 in support of pediatric cancer as part of the company’s $100,000 pledge to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer in 2013.
Now once you gear up on your OXO cupcake tools, I urge you to make that emergency grocery run to make these cupcakes because I can honestly say that these cupcakes are THE BEST pumpkin cupcakes I have ever had, hands down. The batter comes together so easily, and the base is so incredibly light and moist, just the way a cupcake base should be. Then when you top it off with an incredibly fluffy cream cheese frosting with a fresh burst of cinnamon, these babies are irresistable. Feel free to garnish these off with a pumpkin candy and chopped walnuts – either way, you’ll want to gobble these up instantly!
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
For the cinnamon cream cheese frosting
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 9 mellowcreme pumpkins candy, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
- In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, sugars, vegetable oil and eggs.
- Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist.
- Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray. Place into oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating just until incorporated. Add vanilla and cinnamon until well combined. Increase speed to medium high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy, approximately 1-2 minutes.
- Use a small offset spatula or a pastry bag fitted with decorative tip #807 to frost the cupcakes, garnished with pumpkins candy, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Disclosure: OXO provided me with a set of cupcake baking tools and will be making a $100 donation to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.
These turned out absolutely amazing. This has to be one of the best things I’ve baked in a while. The frosting recipe is super generous. I doubled the recipe to take into work and I had plenty of frosting left over. I wouldn’t change anything this is a perfect recipe as is.
These cupcakes are so delicious! I was worried when the reviews said it only made 9 cupcakes, but my batter made 12, and some were overfilled! I ended up using my own frosting recipe because we have one we love with whipping cream. I will be making these again! Thank you for the awesome recipe.
Do you think they would turn out OK if you cut some of the sugar or used maple syrup or honey or monkfruit sweetener instead of one of them?
10/10!! Perfection
I’ve never made a Damn Delicious recipe that hasn’t been anything less than perfection.
This is more than a 5 star.. the only recipe for birthday cupcakes that never fails me. Thanks.
There’s a decent amount of sugar, but for celebration cupcakes these feel healthier than most!
My go to for any pumpkin dessert! It is absolutely delicious. The recipe comes out perfect every time!
This does *not* make enough batter for 12 cupcakes. I had to struggle to use every drop and some of mine were just half full. Below the author says it makes 9 cupcakes. There are also several comments alluding to other comments indicating there wasn’t enough batter, but those comments are curiously nowhere to be found. To save anyone else a headache, plan for nine cupcakes or double the recipe to be safe. One cup of flour does not make 12 cupcakes.
We made these for Thanksgiving; I personally was extremely thankful. Several people remarked that you could put the frosting on anything and it would be great. I’m making them again tonight.
Hi,
This is my absolute favorite pumpkin recipe! Thank you!
Have you ever made it into a 13″x9″ cake? If so, was the recipe exact or did you have to make adjustments?
Thanks!
I actually have not but please let me know how it turns out if you give it a go! 🙂
These are absolutely fantastic! I’m a huge fan of your blog. I don’t think I have ever tried one of your recipes that I didn’t like!!
This was wonderful!!! I didn’t want cupcakes so I baked for 30 minutes in a 11 x 7 pan. The frosting was a perfect compliment to the pumpkin flavor. Although I made and entire recipe of frosting, half the amount would have been perfect for the 11 x 7 cake.
Gah!!!! These were DELICIOUS!!!! Before I could even frost them my husband ate 3! My 1.5 year old son devoured a whole one himself!
I doubled the recipe as I knew they would go quick and served them for dessert at Thanksgiving dinner (Canadian). They were gone that night! The icing was sooooo delicious; however, I used 5 cups of icing/confectioners sugar (as I double that recipe too) and I almost think 4 would have been perfect. The cupcakes were sweet enough so the icing didn’t need all the sugar.
I am making another batch today with my left over pumpkin puree. Now I’m addicted to pumpkin!!!! Such and easy and amazing recipe! Thanks!!!
how long should it be baked as a cake?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
Any idea how these cupcakes would come out omitting the eggs? I need a vegan recipe and thought about using flax seed and water as an egg substitute.
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. Please use your best judgment.
These are super damn delicious! I also added more cinnamon to the frosting. And I topped with those cute plastic spider rings for a Halloween party. Thanks for the yummy and easy recipe Chungah!
these look really good.i’ll have to try to make them
These are the BEST cupcakes. I love them. The cream cheese frosting is wonderful. I added more cinnamon to the frosting.
I made these for a pumpkin carving party and they were really wonderful! I was generous with the cup of flour, but everything else I measured to a tee. I didn’t want them being dense like pumpkin bread or muffins so I whsiked the eggs seperately until frothy and then whisked the eggs into the other wet ingredients. I was worried about over mixing when adding the wet ingredients to the dry because when I stirred it gently with a spatula as directed it remained pretty lumpy so I had to take a whisk to it for just a few seconds to make it come together properly. I made my own cinnamon cream cheese frosting so I can’t speak to this recipe specifically. All-in-all, the flavor of these cupcakes was spot on and the texture came out wonderfully light and moist, not heavy or dense at all. Everyone at the party loved them and there wasn’t a single one left over!
Also want to add – this filled 12 cupcake liners to just about 3/4 full, which was perfect becacuse they didn’t rise a whole lot.
Just baked a batch tonight-Very yummy! Thanks!
The cupcakes are absolutely beautiful and the recipe sounds incredible! We featured this recipe in our Featured Friday for Halloween Desserts! Here is the link for the blog post: http://returntothetable.net/recipes/sweet-endings/halloween-desserts/
These are perfect for my baking. Is pumpkin puree the same as can pumpkin?
Cindy, there is canned pumpkin puree and canned pumpkin pie filling. Now for this recipe, it is best to use pumpkin puree, not the pie filling.
Hi,
I tried these last night and they were delicious!! Thanks.
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I made these. I got 12 no problem. They are soooooooo good. One question. What tip did you use to get this result. My icing was quite soft. I did put it in the frig to harden but I guess I didn’t leave it long enough…
I used piping tip #807. As for the runny frosting – you can add more confectioners’ sugar as needed to obtain your desired consistency.
Acabo de hacer esta receta duplicada, y quedé sin palabras. Están simplemente riquísimos, eso que hice mi propio puré de calabaza. Nunca había probado de este sabor, y esta fue una GRAN primera impresión, eso lo doy por firmado. De verdad muy buena receta y aporte, además muy fácil de entender. xoxo from your chilean reader, Bella.
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These are sooooo delicious!! I’ve made them several times and have also adapted the recipe size to make cakes. And I love how fluffy the frosting is even with the cream cheese. I’ve also adapted the frosting for other cream cheese frosting flavors. Thanks so much!!!
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I’ve made these cupcakes several times now and they are wonderful. Soft, moist, and pumpkiny. As I’m working in Istanbul, I can’t get canned pumpkin. But with all the delicious pumpkin recipes out there it inspired me to do it from fresh pumpkin. It took a couple hours to get a pumpkin puree but definitely worth it. I shared these with my Turkish students for Halloween and they loved them. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Just made these for family Thanksgiving tomorrow and they’re delish!! Did add a bit more cinnamon and to me the frosting is perfect. Thank you so much for this recipe! (Tonight I am making the salmon w/ siracha sauce *excited* 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving!
This recipe looks and sounds really good. Im wanting to make it for this Thanksgiving. But I noticed milk is missing from the recipe. Does the pumpkin purée take its place?
Thanks for sharing,
Dani
Milk is not needed in this recipe.
Thanks! Just wanted to share, I made these for thanksgiving and everyone who tried it they liked it, thanks again for sharing it.
Dani
I also made a batch using a carmel frosting (from my triple salted carmel cupcake recipe) since I didn’t know if the cream cheese frosting would hold out during the wedding reception.
I made these last night for an office Thanksgiving Feast today, and they were a HUGE hit!!
I added much more cinnamon to the frosting as others have noted, as well as approx. ½ tsp. maple flavoring (suited to taste—I probably added just a couple drops more than ½ tsp.). I did try the frosting before the maple was added and both ways were great. I just liked the difference the maple brought to the table, and it also made it not such a strong cream cheese taste, while still being very cream cheese-y. I cannot recommend this recipe enough!!! The way people’s eyes rolled back into their heads while taking the first bite says it all! (Not even exaggerating)
First time to your blog, thanks for such a great recipe =)
Oh, and I did get 12 cupcakes out of the batter. I also had enough frosting for about 30 cupcakes (I didn’t use *quite* as much frosting as you lol). I say about 30 because my husband and I of course had to taste some from the first batch before they were frosted to make sure we were cooking them right for the next two batches 😉
12 perfectly delicious cupcakes! Next time I will add more powdered sugar because the icing was a little too lose, but other than that they were moist and fluffy and got rave reviews from everyone.
I’m so happy to hear that it was a hit with everyone!
how I can find your pumpkin cupcake with cinnamon cream cheese cake recipes
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I can honestly say these were the best Pumpkin cupcake I have ever made! My whole family and friends enjoyed it! Thank you!
I’m so glad everyone loved it!
I’m not a pumpkin eater but I just made these cupcakes and they are damn delicious! I might eat them all sooo good 🙂
Went out on limb and made these for a wedding in which I was baking all the cupcakes for. This recipe is FABULOUS. I made an extra batch for work and they were gone instantly. This is my new go to pumpkin cake recipe. Thanks.
I’m so glad you had a chance to make these!
I live about 40 miles south of Seattle, so I know about Pike Place. Hey, I’d go there every day if I lived closer!!
I just happened upon this recipe as we’re having a pumpkin potluck at work. I’m going to give the recipe to my daughter as she makes the BEST cupcakes EVER. 🙂 Thanks!!
I too was a little frustrated by the lack of reviews of the recipe, yes they look beautiful, but how do they taste?? So I decided I had to come back and write a review after I made them.
They tasted great and they were a big hit with my kids and at our Halloween party! The cake was moist and good enough to eat without the icing. The one criticism I have is that the icing really needed to have quite a bit more cinnamon in it, with the amount listed you couldn’t tell it was cinnamon icing, but it was a pretty yummy cream cheese icing. I found the icing to be stiff enough going by the recipe, I didn’t have to add any extra powdered sugar.
I did double the recipe and it made 24 cupcakes just fine, I think a single recipe would make 12 cupcakes. Since I doubled the recipe I just used a whole can of pumpkin (which is an ounce short of two cups) and the cupcakes turned out great. I doubled the icing as well and ended up with a ton extra, I’m not sure I piled my icing on as high as in the picture 🙂
Thanks for the yummy recipe!!
This has been my go to recipe all month! I am trying it in cake form this morning. Wish me luck!
Good luck! Let me know how it turns out!
The first thing I look at when I’m searching for a recipe is the comment section. Well, right after I check out the ingredient list to make sure one of the ingredients isn’t something like, “One box of instant pudding,” or “One envelope of Fiesta Seasoning mix.”
Anyhow, I was noticing that not really anyone had actually MADE these cupcakes. There’s plenty of pinning it everywhere, and I get the feeling that they’re “really cute,” but can’t anyone testify to the greatness of the of the cakes? It’s a real shame, because these are some of the finest cupcakes I’ve ever made!
I almost don’t want to toss in my two cents, but I have a couple of notes that others might find useful.
First, the recipe says it makes 9. It made 12 perfectly filled cupcakes for me. This isn’t really a problem, except I just had to get 3 more liners out unexpectedly. This is a good thing, because 9 of these babies isn’t enough.
Second, the icing was a little loose for me. Maybe my kitchen was on the warm side, but I added more and more sugar until it was pipable.
Lastly, the I easily tripled the cinnamon in the icing. I’m not sure about the actual amount because I just kept dumping it in until it was enough for me.
Hope this adds to the cupcake knowledge on your site, and thanks for the awesome recipe!
What did you use to ice the cupcakes?
I used piping tip #807.
I just made them. They are amazing. My frosting was. Little runny but I’ll take full responsibility for that, the taste was awesome! This recipe is a keeper. The cake is just YES.
Thank you for actually posting a comment after you made them. Much appreciated!!!!!. I do the exact thing you do when I find a recipe I am interested in. I check out the recipe and I always check the comments.
I love the look of this icing. How did you apply it? One continuos squeeze until
You reach the amount you want in each layer or did u use circular motion with your piping bag for each layer?
I used a circular motion.
The pumpkin makes the cake incredibly moist and the consistency is SO perfect <3 These are some of the best cupcakes I've had!
First, these cupcakes look beautiful…I love the little pumpkin garnish…where’d you find those…
So, usually I see cupcake recipes using unsalted butter…Was there a particular reason your recipe opts for the vegetable oil instead?
The pumpkin candies can be found in the seasonal section of your local grocery store. I chose to use vegetable oil instead of unsalted butter for two reasons – I wanted to make a quick and easy cupcake base that didn’t require a mixer and secondly, I prefer the spongier texture of these cupcakes that come from the vegetable oil.
Just finished putting these together. Amazing! I am a pumkin addict and this is for sure the best pumpkin cupcake. This recipe is a keeper.
Hi 🙂 I plan on making these tomorrow for a Walking Dead family potluck. I was wondering; what should I do about the frosting if I don’t have an electric mix. Should I use my hand held mixer or my food processor? Thanks for this! They look perfect.
A hand electric mixer should work just fine.
These look so beautiful! I would like to make them in my mini-muffin tins and take them to the teachers’ lounge. Of course, they wouldn’t get the whole “tower” of frosting but will have to be satisfied with a smaller amount! Do you have any suggestions for changes in baking time for the mini size and how full to fill the mini-muffin cups.
I would suggest about 10-12 minutes for mini muffins. Be sure to fill the mini muffin cups about 2/3 full.
Wow you did the icing so perfectly! Mine tend to turn out all lopsided – what’s your secret?!
Sorry about your frosting! My frosting was stiff enough to hold up, although some became a tiny bit lopsided. If anything, you can add more confectioners’ sugar until you reach your desired consistency.
You took some gorgeous shots of Seattle, Chung-Ah. I’m sooooo happy I got to meet you! Isn’t the city amazing?! When you and Jason come back, hit as many restaurants as you possible can. Seattle is a foodie’s dream city. Your cupcakes look incredible, especially that tall luscious cream cheese frosting. I may or may not be drooling all over myself right now.
Following up on my earlier post. I baked the batter into one sheet and doubled the recipe. The final product was damn delicious! 🙂 Moist and fluffy. Planning on modifying the recipe with applesauce for the puree and flavor with Dutch chocolate and semisweet chocolate bits. This time I’ll do the frosting and I got some paper cups, too! I can’t wait to try this. Any recommendations? Thanks again for the great recipe; it’s a keeper.
Can’t wait to make these cupcakes, look so delicious!
Beautiful cupcakes!!
These look amazing. I want to try them, but I am wondering if I am reading the portion size correctly. Does this recipe only make 9 cupcakes?
Yes, this batch only makes 9 cupcakes.
Are you able to sub the oil for apple sauce? Have you tried that as these look amazing!
You can substitute the vegetable oil for applesauce. I’ve done that a couple of times (not for this particular recipe) to make it a bit more healthy.
LA LA LOVE!! The frosting piled high looks gorgeous!! And I love that the recipe makes a small batch 🙂 PS So jelly of Seattle thats on my to visit list!!
Love Seattle and Pikes too. I’m sure I’d love your cupcakes too. They look fantastic.
These cupcakes are the cutest! And I want to stick my entire face in that tower of cream cheese. I do believe this is what the phrase “nom nom nom” was invented for!
These cupcakes look delicious!! I’ve never been to Seattle and I’ve always wanted to. Your photos are beautiful. Looks like you had a great time.
I hope you get a chance to visit Seattle – it’s such a beautiful city!
I must have these in my life. They are the key to my daily happiness.
they sound yummy!
Oh my gosh, these cupcakes are so adorable 🙂 I love the tiny pumpkins on top!
Oh how I would love to visit Seattle one day! Great pics that definitely show the beauty of the city.
These little cupcakes are adorable! I love the little pumpkin candy on top. What a lovely touch!
Gorgeous Seattle photos and I love these cupcakes – the cinnamon frosting looks amazing!
I lived in Washington (near Seattle) my whole up until I moved after getting married. It’s the best place in the world!
Those cupcakes are adorable 🙂 I happen to love all things pumpkin. Especially anything with pumpkin pie spice.
Those Ball Dahlias are gorgeous….the gum wall not so much lol. Wow…the Starbucks logo…can you say poor taste? I’m glad they changed that lol. I’m surprised the city is allowing them to use that logo on the building like that….so tacky….but that’s just me.
I adore Seattle – and I adore that frosting. In fact, the whole cupcake looks perfect!
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On top of all the pumpkin coffee I’ve been drinking from my new Keurig (thanks, hubby!), this week alone I made 3 pumpkin recipes: pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin muffin, and I found a great recipe for pumpkin oatmeal. If you were brave enough to declare that you’re a pumpkin addict, I guess now would be the perfect time to say the say ;). At the first hint of fall, not only did my fall decorations come out, but I started to really integrate the pumpkin into my cooking. Unfortunately, after a fairly cool week in Pennsylvania, today seems bizarrely hot for some reason. I feel a bit silly with all my Fall decorations out now….lol….I sure hope this hot weather subsides soon….
Yesterday I harvested a couple of Sweet Pie pumpkins. I used some of their flesh to make your recipe. I doubled it (no baking powder so I used baking soda with cream of tartar as a sub) Baking it as one big cake instead of muffins so we’ll see how long it’ll take. We’ll be eating it without frosting, too; I didn’t have the ingredients, but I’m planning on trying it next time. It smells really good in our house right now 🙂 Thanks for the recipe.
Yessss, so glad you had a great time in Seattle. I agree with you–I love it! Can’t wait to move back in January. 🙂 Now on to the cupcakes. These look soooo yummy. I mean, cinnamon and cream cheese? Win! The little pumpkin on top is just the cutest. Great recipe!
Spinning Needle, Space Needle. . close enough 🙂 I wish I would still be here in January. . but you have to go to Revel (korean chef Rachel Yang and her Canadian hubby are freaking awesome!) urban style Korean comfort food. it’s freaking delicious: http://www.revelseattle.com/ and http://www.samurainoodle.com/ for ramen. You will not be disappointed! LOVE these cupcakes and the Bake a Difference, awesome!
I loved Seattle when I went also and definitely want to go back ASAP!!
Pumpkin is slowly but surely taking over my life. And I am oh so happy about it! These look kind of like the perfect cupcake!
These sound delicious. Thank you. Have a great weekend.
So fun and pretty! Nothing beats a good pumpkin cupcake with a mass amount of delicious frosting! Yes, please!
Gorgeous Fall cupcakes and photography, girl! Must make these soon. Thanks for sharing, Chung-Ah! Pinning to several group boards at Pinterest! xo
Thank you, Stacy! And I honestly could have these fall cupcakes all year long!
Girl they look incredible! Pinned to various boards! I need that frosting on everything, too 🙂
Thanks for the pins, Averie. You’re the best!
Ah!! the topping pumpkin is way too cute!
I am glad pumpkin is on special right now, because I am addicted!
I’m totally addicted too! I think I’m making more pumpkin goodies this weekend – I can’t get enough!
Those cupcakes are so cute! I really need to try to get to more of these conferences!
I hope I get to meet you at a conference!