Pumpkin Cupcakes

These scrumptious and adorable moist cinnamon pumpkin cupcakes are topped with an easy five-ingredient cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Fall never tasted so good. I love to bring these to potlucks, family reunions, and neighborhood socials.

They are the perfect individually proportioned sweet treat. If you like these pumpkin goodies, try pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin muffins, and pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting.

If your family is anything like mine, then they love pumpkin desserts. These sweet pumpkin cupcakes dressed in candy corn are no exception to that rule. The kids and hubby love the moist pumpkin cake with warm spices and a smooth whipped cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

See the complete list of ingredients below on the recipe card.

• Leavening agents: both baking powder and baking soda. Make sure they are still good.
• Spices: warm spices such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice
• Pumpkin puree: canned or homemade
• Vanilla extract: the pure stuff, please. It is pricey, but it is worth it.
• Cream cheese: full-fat for the best flavor; don’t forget to soften it.

How to Make Pumpkin Cupcakes

This is the summary version; see the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients and the instructions.

Start by whisking together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground allspice in a medium bowl. Now, whisk together the pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla in a separate large bowl. 

Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients in several increments. mixing just until incorporated. Divide the pumpkin cupcake batter evenly into a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Bake in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Let the cupcakes fully cool before frosting.

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or hand mixer, beat your cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, and powdered sugar one cup at a time.

Mix until fully incorporated, scraping down the beaters and bowl several times. Pipe or frost the pumpkin cream cheese cupcakes after they have thoroughly cooled. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Preparation Tips and Storage

• Always measure your flour properly. Spoon it into a measuring cup and level it off with a table knife. This assures that the proper amount of flour is in the recipe. 
• Use canned or fresh pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, as the latter already contains other spices, sugar, and salt.
• Use cupcake liners as they are easy to use, the cupcakes don’t stick to the pan, and they peel right off, making for quick consumption.
• If you pipe the cinnamon cream cheese frosting, do not over-mix the cream cheese and butter. Mix just until creamy and smooth. Spoon the frosting into a piping bag and pipe over thoroughly cooled cupcakes.
• Cover and refrigerate for several hours if the frosting is too loose to pipe.
• Because of the cinnamon cream cheese frosting, these pumpkin cupcakes should be stored in the refrigerator.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Pumpkin Recipes

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin Bread with Cinnamon Glaze

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Soup

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe

These easy-to-make pumpkin cupcakes are perfect for Fall. Made with real pumpkin for the best pumpkin flavor and ground cinnamon, then topped with a whipped cream cheese icing. Make a batch of these scrumptious pumpkin cupcakes today!

5 from 41 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: desserts

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 475kcal

Author: Beth Pierce

Ingredients

Pumpkin Cupcakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
• ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• ⅔ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• candy corn optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 12 count standard muffin (cupcake pan) with cupcake liners.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground allspice. In a separate large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.
• Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in 3 increments, stirring just until combined between each one. Divide batter evenly between the cupcake holes, filling about 2/3 of the way up.  Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on wire racks.
• Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or hand mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth, creamy, and lump-free.  Mix in vanilla, cinnamon, and 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time until fully incorporated.  Pipe or frost fully cooled cupcakes.  If desired, top with candy corn.

Notes

• Always measure your flour properly. Spoon it into a measuring cup and level it off with a table knife. This assures that the proper amount of flour is in the recipe. 
• Use canned or fresh pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, as the latter already contains other spices, sugar, and salt.
• Use cupcake liners as they are easy to use, the cupcakes don’t stick to the pan, and they peel right off, making for quick consumption.
• If you pipe the cinnamon cream cheese frosting, do not over-mix the cream cheese and butter. Mix just until creamy and smooth. Spoon the frosting into a piping bag and pipe over thoroughly cooled cupcakes.
• Cover and refrigerate for several hours if the frosting is too loose to pipe.
• Because of the cinnamon cream cheese frosting, these pumpkin cupcakes should be stored in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Calories: 475kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 314mg | Potassium: 111mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 53g | Vitamin A: 3708IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 1mg

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