Pumpkin Cupcakes

My soft and buttery pumpkin cupcakes are perfect for fall with their irresistible brown sugar cream cheese frosting. Melted butter in the batter allows us to bloom the spices (more flavor!) AND eliminates the need for a mixer (beginner-friendly!). Recipe includes a how-to video! 

Perfect Pumpkin Cupcakes

These soft pumpkin cupcakes will fulfill all of your fall dessert cravings. Are they packed with pumpkin? Check! Infused with cozy spices? Check! Fast and easy (more time for corn mazes and pumpkin patches!)? Check, check, check! Find me a more simple and satisfying-I dare you (ok, my pumpkin cheesecake might be a good contender)!

I shared this recipe years ago and am tweaking it just a tiny bit today to make it more flavorful. They are still the same super soft and moist cupcakes you loved before, but even better!

Why This Recipe WORKS

• Moist without any oil. The pumpkin adds enough moisture that we can rely solely on butter here (as opposed to butter and oil, my usual choice!). This adds a lovely flavor and creates the perfect moist, tender texture.
• Fast and simple, but also intentional. The batter comes together by hand without a mixer, and this is intentional. Using melted butter (as opposed to softened) gives us the most buttery flavor and eliminates the need to use a mixer, which could lead to over-mixing.
• Blooming spices = bold pumpkin spice flavor. Adding the spices to the warm melted butter extracts their flavor and makes a big difference in the end result. This is very similar to blooming cocoa powder, which I do for deep chocolate flavor in my chocolate cupcakes and chocolate cake.
• Lots of frosting options. If you’re not a fan of today’s brown sugar cream cheese frosting, feel free to frost your pumpkin cupcakes with any of my other suggested frostings in the FAQ section below (brown butter frosting would be my second pick!).

Ingredients

I won’t go over everything here, but let’s talk about a few of the key ingredients you’ll need to make these pumpkin cupcakes.

• Canned pumpkin. Use 100% pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie filling (sneakily sold right beside the puree, in a very similar orange can). You could substitute homemade pumpkin puree so long as you process it properly, but I do recommend the canned version in this situation for consistency(and you’re more likely to get consistent results using the canned stuff).
• Butter. Generally I prefer to use a blend of oil and butter when making cakes and cupcakes (like my vanilla cake and apple cake). However, when it comes to my pumpkin cupcakes, I found that the pumpkin goes a long way in preserving the moisture and simply tastes better than any versions I tried with oil. However, butter solidifies when cold, so if you refrigerate the cupcakes to store them I recommend letting them sit at room temperature a bit before enjoying, that way the crumb can soften to its proper melt-in-your-mouth texture.
• Pumpkin spice. This blend of spices is what gives the cupcakes their flavor. If you don’t have any on hand (or can’t find it in the grocery store), you can make my homemade pumpkin spice with spices you probably already have handy (or can easily find in the grocery store).
• Cream cheese. For the frosting! Use the brick-style, full-fat version; I don’t recommend the spreadable kind that comes in a tub (it will make your frosting runny and you won’t be able to pipe it).
• Brown sugar. Adding a few tablespoons of brown sugar to the frosting adds a subtle depth of flavor (thanks to the molasses in brown sugar).

Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

SAM’S TIP: Today’s frosting would also be great on carrot cake cupcakes, spice cake, or banana cake!

How to Make Pumpkin Cupcakes

Make the Batter

My method for mixing the ingredients is a little different from both traditional creaming and reverse creaming, and is more similar to what I use when making muffins (like my chocolate chip muffins). I found this method resulted the best texture, so this is what I stuck with. It yields a plush, tender crumb, that reminds me of pumpkin bread. Let’s do it:

1. Bloom the spices: Melt the butter, then immediately whisk in the spices. Set this aside and let it cool to the touch.
2. Dry ingredients: Whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, then set aside.
3. Wet ingredients: Add the pumpkin puree to the cooled butter, then whisk in your eggs and vanilla. Once combined, pour in your milk and whisk again until everything is combined.
4. Combine: Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, being careful not to over-mix (don’t use an electric mixer!) but also making sure the batter is cohesive and smooth.

Portion & Bake

5. Portion: Divide your batter evenly in a lined muffin tin; I use an ice cream scoop to do this for the cleanest and easiest portioning.
6. Bake: Bake until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, about 19 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan to a cooling rack after a few minutes; this will prevent greasy bottoms.

Make the Frosting

We’ll be topping off our pumpkin cupcakes with a brown sugar version of my classic cream cheese frosting, and it’s the perfect pairing. It’s a silkier and thinner variation that pipes beautifully and pairs so well with the pumpkin flavor. You’ll love it!

7. Make the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and combined, then stir in the brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Scrape the bowl, then gradually add the powdered sugar. Add the cream, if using, then whip the frosting until silky, about 30 seconds on high speed.
8. Pipe over cupcakes: Pipe or spread the frosting over your completely cooled cupcakes. Decorate as desired; I like to press these cute icing pumpkins into the tops (feel free to make your own with my royal icing recipe!). Enjoy!

SAM’S TIP: Beating in a tablespoon or two of heavy cream will make your frosting even silkier and smoother. I’ll add it depending on how I want my frosting to look on top of my cupcakes when I’m finished; if you leave it out, your frosting will be stiffer and hold its shape better when piped.

Frequently Asked Questions

Pumpkin Cupcakes

My soft, buttery pumpkin cupcakes are perfect for fall with their irresistible brown sugar cream cheese frosting. Melted butter in the batter allows us to bloom the spices (more flavor!) AND eliminates the need for a mixer (beginner-friendly!).

Recipe includes a how-to video! 

4.95 from 18 votes

Print Pin Rate

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Course: cupcakes, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 cupcakes

Calories: 492kcal

Author: Sam Merritt

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• ▢ ¾ cup (165 g) unsalted butter cut into pieces
• ▢ 1 ¼ cups (150 g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
• ▢ ¾ teaspoons baking soda
• ▢ ¾ teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon table salt
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 2 large eggs lightly beaten (room temperature preferred)
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon (7.5 ml) vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 cup (225 g) pumpkin puree¹
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) milk

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

• ▢ ½ cup (110 g) unsalted butter softened
• ▢ 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese softened
• ▢ 4 Tablespoons light brown sugar firmly packed
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon table salt
• ▢ 3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar
• ▢ 1-2 Tablespoons heavy cream optional, this will make your frosting even thinner and silkier.

Recommended Equipment

• ▢
  Cupcake pan
• ▢
  Mixing bowls

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F (177C) and line a muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
• Place your butter pieces in a large, microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted. Immediately add pumpkin spice and cinnamon and whisk to combine. Set butter aside to cool.
  ¾ cup (165 g) unsalted butter, 1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• In a separate large mixing bowl combine flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well-combined. Set aside.
  1 ¼ cups (150 g) all-purpose flour, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, ¾ teaspoons baking soda, ¾ teaspoons baking powder, ¾ teaspoon table salt
• Check that your butter isn't warm to the touch and add pumpkin puree and stir well.
  1 cup (225 g) pumpkin puree¹
• Add eggs and vanilla extract and whisk well to combine. Stir in milk.
  2 large eggs, 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) milk, 1 ½ teaspoon (7.5 ml) vanilla extract
• Gradually stir your dry ingredients into your wet until completely combined, taking care to not over-mix the batter.
• Evenly divide cupcake batter into prepared muffin tins (filling each about ⅔-¾ full/about 3 Tbsp of batter per liner) and bake on 350 for 18-20 minutes (toothpick inserted in center should come out mostly clean with only few crumbs).
• Allow to cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5-7 minutes before carefully removing to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

• In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using an electric mixer) beat together cream cheese and butter, until well-creamed.
  ½ cup (110 g) unsalted butter, 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese
• Add brown sugar, vanilla extract, and salt and beat on medium-high speed until well-combined (about 15-30 seconds). Pause mixer to scrape down sides of bowl, and then beat again to make sure all ingredients are combined.
  4 Tablespoons light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon table salt
• Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually, about ½ cup at a time, add powdered sugar until combined. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl again.
  3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar
• If using heavy cream, add now (1 Tablespoon at a time) and beat on high speed for 30 seconds — until frosting is smooth and silky. Scrape down sides of bowl once more and beat briefly.
  1-2 Tablespoons heavy cream
• Spread or pipe frosting over cooled cupcakes.
• Enjoy!

Notes

¹Pumpkin puree

Make sure this is 100% pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling (which contains spices and other ingredients). The only ingredient on the back of the label should be pumpkin.

Storing

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 48 hours or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Cupcakes may also be wrapped well and frozen. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupcake with frosting | Calories: 492kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 105mg | Sodium: 271mg | Potassium: 137mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 4086IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

This easy recipe was originally published 09/07/2016. Additional information and a new video have been added to help make this post as helpful as possible. A few minor tweaks have been made (a bit more pumpkin spice bloomed in the warm butter) as well.