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Pumpkin Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting

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These pumpkin cupcakes are quick and easy to make, perfectly moist and fluffy and flavorful, and topped with the most heavenly cream cheese frosting.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Just going to leave this pumpkin cupcakes recipe riiiight here for you today. ♡

Because after making a few batches this week to share with friends and neighbors, I feel convinced that these pumpkin cupcakes are the perfect sweet treats we all need right about now.

The pumpkin cake batter in this recipe is wonderfully quick and easy to mix up by hand (no mixer required) and rises in the oven to form the most perfectly soft and fluffy cupcakes. It is mixed with the perfect amount of pumpkin spice and vanilla to bring out the best of those warm pumpkin flavors we all love. And it is paired with the dreamiest cream cheese frosting, which I will forever consider pumpkin’s match-made-in-flavor-heaven.

This pumpkin cupcakes recipe is a straight-ahead classic, but one I adore so, so much. So if you love a good pumpkin cupcake as much as I do, give it a try soon because it never disappoints!

Sprinkling Cinnamon on Pumpkin Cupcakes

Pumpkin Cupcakes Ingredients:

Before we get to the full recipe below, here are a few quite notes about the ingredients you will need to make these pumpkin cupcakes:

  • Dry ingredients: A basic combination of all-purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda.
  • Spices: I seasoned these with pumpkin pie spice (you can use homemade or store-bought), ground cinnamon and fine sea salt.
  • Pumpkin purée: I used canned pumpkin purée for these cupcakes, but feel free to use homemade pumpkin purée if you prefer. (Just be sure not to accidentally purchase canned pumpkin pie filling, which is a different product altogether.)
  • Oil: I tested this recipe with butter and oil, and prefer the lighter texture that comes with oil. You could use canola oil, vegetable oil, or any neutral-flavored oil that you prefer.
  • Sugars: I used half granulated (white) sugar and half light brown sugar.
  • Vanilla: Just a teaspoon or so to complement all of those delicious pumpkin spice flavors.
  • Eggs: To bind the batter together.
  • Cream cheese frosting: I just used my standard cream cheese frosting recipe here, made with room temperature cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt.

Holding a Pumpkin Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Possible Recipe Variations:

Want to customize this pumpkin cupcake recipe a bit? Feel free to…

  • Add nuts: Stir 1/4 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter if you would like. (Or you can sprinkle them on top of the cream cheese frosting.)
  • Add chocolate chips: Stir 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips into the batter if you would like. (Or you can sprinkle them on top of the cream cheese frosting.)
  • Use applesauce: If you would like to lighten up the cupcakes, feel free to use 1/4 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup oil (instead of 1/2 cup oil).
  • Add cinnamon to the frosting: Mix 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or more/less, to taste) into the frosting, instead of sprinkling a pinch on top.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting in Pan

More Favorite Pumpkin Recipes:

Craving more pumpkin recipes this season? Here are a few of my all-time faves…

Pumpkin Cupcakes Closeup

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Pumpkin Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 4 reviews
  • Prep Time: 40 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x

Description

These pumpkin cupcakes are quick and easy to make, perfectly moist and fluffy and flavorful, and topped with the most heavenly cream cheese frosting.


Ingredients

Scale

Pumpkin Cupcake Ingredients:

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:


Instructions

  1. Prep the oven and baking pan. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking liners, or lightly grease with cooking spray; set aside.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt until combined.
  3. Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate large mixing bowl, stir together the pumpkin purée, oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract and eggs until evenly combined.
  4. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently stir until the mixture is just evenly combined and no dry streaks remain.  (Try to avoid over-mixing.)
  5. Bake. Portion the batter evenly into the 12 baking cups.  (I like to do this using a large 3-tablespoon cookie scoop.)  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  Transfer the pan to a wire cooling rack and let the cupcakes cool completely to room temperature.
  6. Make the frosting. Meanwhile as the cupcakes bake and cool, make your frosting by combining the cream cheese, butter, 3 cups powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt in a clean mixing bowl.  Use a rubber spatula (or you can use an electric mixer) to stir the frosting until it is completely combined and smooth.  If the frosting is too thin, continue adding in more powdered sugar until it reaches your desired consistency.
  7. Frost the cupcakes. Once the cupcakes are room temperature, use either a piping bag (I used a 1M tip) to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes, or use a knife to spread it on generously. Feel free to sprinkle a bit of pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon on top of the cupcakes to finish.
  8. Serve. Then serve and enjoy!  Leftover cupcakes can be refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 3 or 4 days.


Notes

Salt: If you only have iodized table salt on hand, use only 1/2 teaspoon.

Oil: Or feel free to use any other neutral-flavored cooking oil that you prefer.

Sifting the powdered sugar: If you would like your frosting to be free of powdered sugar clumps, I recommend sifting the powdered sugar before you add it to the mixing bowl.  Or if you use an electric mixer (either a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer), that will also make it easier to reduce the clumps.

Recipe updates and source: Recipe updated in 2020 and slightly adapted from Sweetopia.

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35 comments on “Pumpkin Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting”

  1. generally, pumpkin cakes aren’t something that i enjoy or go out of my way to consume. however, the instant you throw cream cheese frosting–CINNAMON-happy, at that–into the mix, the appeal skyrockets. :)

  2. i made the exact same thing this weekend (slightly different recipe) and loved them. Yours look fab too!

  3. 3 batches of cupcakes in one week? Well done, well done! These look like a winner! Cream cheese frosting has become my new favorite type of frosting!

  4. OOOOO these look yummy. Love cupcakes and love pumpkin bread.

  5. These look amazing! Pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors.

  6. Yum.. Those cupcakes look fantastic! Last week I made some pumpkin cupcakes with a cinnamon brown sugar buttercream… I will try the cinnamon cream cheese icing next time!

  7. These look great and oh so festive!

  8. Ali – you are a genius! These cupcakes were super easy to make, and I was told they’re the best cupcakes I’ve made so far! I make them for my office every couple of weeks, but have turned into a baking machine recently. The cupcakes were gone in two hours once I put them in our break room! Thank you so much! Great recipe!

  9. I love the name of your site!! Cute! I’m going to try these pumpkin cupcakes this week. Thanks for sharing!

  10. Just found this recipe and made them last night, delicious!!! Question- my cupcakes are sticking to the paper, did I do something wrong, over mix? Help I want to make these again for Thanksgiving?

    • They Look beautiful!! And i’m so loivng your blog and photos!!! since signing up with Betty I realize I need to sit down and really figure out this blog thing before our Sept assignment! :) Congrats on some beautiful looking cupcakes though!

  11. Fantastic!!!!!!

  12. yum, yum, and yum! I love pumpkin anything and can’t wait to try these! :)

  13. Just want to let you know I made these and they were an absolute hit! Some people even called them the best cupcakes they’ve ever had. Definitely worth making.

  14. I came across this blog where the girl has taken your pumpkin cupcake photo but hasn’t provided you credit for the photo. Thought you’d like to know.

    https://eatbakelove.blogspot.com/2011/09/tgif-thank-goodness-its-fall.html#comment-form

  15. Really cool cupcakes! Nice and easy! Perfect Halloween treat! Great job!

  16. I’m making a lot of cupcakes for a shower and am trying to decide between your recipe and taste of home’s. Their’s has 1 can pumpkin and 3 eggs. I’m not a baker at all! Will this difference be more in the texture of the cupcake?
    Thanks!!!!

  17. Made these to take to work everyone loved them big hit

  18. I made these tonight and just finished one. Heavenly! The cake is nice and dense–bread-like, really. They’re a lot like pumpkin roll, only better and with a more favorable cake:frosting ratio. Highly recommend this recipe!

  19. These cupcakes are amazing! I already wish I would have made a double batch, haha.






  20. Delicious ?
    Wondering if they will freeze ok? Have done with different recipes and even I can’t eat a whole batch myself!!






  21. I made these on Halloween (come from a non Halloween celebrating country – so it was my first proper celebration) and they were simply sublime. So sublime that I re-made a half batch yesterday (having left over ingredients available) and have eaten them all myself (oops!)
    Thank you.






  22. I made this recipe a few weeks ago before it was updated and they were incredible, came out perfectly. I am unsure why it was changed – the updates seem pretty significant and it was amazing before. I haven’t tried this new version because I don’t want to mess with perfection but just wanted to share my thoughts! ?‍♀️






  23. What brand of liners do you use?