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?
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Disclosure: OXO provided me with a set of cupcake baking tools and will be making a $100 donation to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.
Best pumpkin dessert ever. I have been making these multiple times each year for over 5 years now, and they always come out perfectly. Some comments say this recipe only makes 9 cupcakes, but that is incorrect. I’ve been following this recipe to the letter with standard size cupcakes, and over 20 batches later, I can confidently say the recipe makes 12 perfectly rounded cupcakes every single time. Fantastic!
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!