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.
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.