Pumpkin Cupcakes

These pumpkin cupcakes are filled with pumpkin puree and spices, then baked and topped with a generous amount of cream cheese frosting. The ultimate fall treat that’s perfect for parties and even for Thanksgiving day.

When pumpkin season comes around, I often make a variety of seasonal desserts including pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin dump cake, pumpkin pie cheesecake and these light and fluffy pumpkin cupcakes.

It’s time for everything pumpkin, and these pumpkin cupcakes definitely do not disappoint. They have the perfect texture, plenty of pumpkin flavor, and are finished off with melt-in-your-mouth cream cheese frosting. How can you go wrong with that?

How do you make pumpkin cupcakes?

These cupcakes rely on pumpkin puree and vegetable oil for their moist and tender texture. Other ingredients include flour, eggs, sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Pour the batter into your muffin tin then bake until the cupcakes are golden brown. Let the cupcakes cool completely, then prepare the cream cheese frosting. Pipe a swirl of frosting onto each cake. Decorate with pumpkin candies, and you’ll be ready to indulge in these fabulous treats.

Tips for the perfect pumpkin cupcakes

• Watching your calories? You can substitute unsweetened applesauce for half of the oil.
• If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice in the house, you can use cinnamon with a pinch of ground ginger, cloves and nutmeg mixed in.
• You can either use paper cupcake liners, or simply spray the muffin tin with cooking spray before pouring in the batter.
• I decorated my cupcakes with candy pumpkins which I purchased at my local craft store. You can use any fall candy on top, or even a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.

Cupcake Variations

• Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cakes: Mix together 8 ounces of softened cream cheese with 1/4 cup sugar, 1 egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Place a dollop of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin cup of batter and swirl with a toothpick. Proceed with the rest of the recipe as directed.
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes: Add 1 cup of chocolate chips to the batter, proceed with the rest of the recipe as directed.
• Pumpkin Nut Cakes: Add 3/4 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter, proceed with the rest of the recipe as directed.
• Banana Pumpkin Cupcakes: Add 1 mashed banana to the batter, then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
• Pumpkin Nutella Cupcakes: Swirl 1 teaspoon of Nutella into each muffin cup of pumpkin batter, then proceed as directed.

HOW DO YOU MAKE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING?

This cream cheese frosting is made with cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and a little vanilla extract. You can make your cream cheese frosting as thick or as thin as you’d like. Simply add more powdered sugar to make the frosting thicker, or add milk, a teaspoon at a time, to thin out the frosting. Thicker frosting is easier to pipe onto cupcakes, but you want to make sure it’s not too thick so that it doesn’t squeeze out of the piping tip properly.

Can you freeze cupcakes?

I recommend freezing these cupcakes before you add the frosting. Thaw the cupcakes at room temperature, then add the frosting and serve. Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen in a resealable bag for up to 2 months.

These cupcakes are the absolute best way to celebrate the fall season. They look impressive, yet they’re so easy to make!

More delicious pumpkin recipes

• Creamy Pumpkin Dip
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
• Pumpkin French Toast Sticks
• Easy Pumpkin Bars
• Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

Pumpkin Cupcakes Video

5 from 12 votes

Pumpkin Cupcakes

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AuthorSara Welch

These pumpkin cupcakes are filled with pumpkin puree and spices, then baked and topped with a generous amount of cream cheese frosting. The ultimate fall treat that's perfect for parties and even for Thanksgiving day.

Time

Prep Time25 minutes minutes

Cook Time15 minutes minutes

Total Time40 minutes minutes

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Serves 12

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

For the cake

• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 cup pumpkin puree
• ▢ 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ cooking spray

For the frosting

• ▢ 1/2 cup butter softened
• ▢ 8 ounces cream cheese softened
• ▢ 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 12 candy pumpkins optional garnish

Instructions 

For the cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray, or you can use paper liners.
• Place the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil in a bowl. Whisk until smooth.
• Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract and salt to the bowl. Stir until just combined.
• Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups.
• Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. 
• Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting

• Place the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a mixer and mix until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
• Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time and mix on low speed until combined. Add the vanilla extract and mix for 30 seconds.
• If the frosting is too thick, add 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until desired consistency is reached.
• Place the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip. Pipe the frosting on the cupcakes, then top each cupcake with a candy pumpkin. Serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 363kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 281mg | Potassium: 112mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 61g | Vitamin A: 3707IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg

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