Lovely & moist Pumpkin Cupcakes with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting are the perfect Fall treat! They are quick and easy dessert to share with friends and family for any of the Fall holidays or just because it’s pumpkin season!
When you start feeling that nip in the air and the leaves begin changing color, it’s time for all things pumpkin! Some of our other favorite pumpkin recipes are a classic Pumpkin Roll, Pumpkin Ice Cream, and a yummy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie that’s great for when you have a partial can of pumpkin puree leftover!
How can you resist a cute little handheld treat topped with one of those adorable candy pumpkins? You don’t need any fancy decorating skills if you just make smart choices about how to accessorize a cupcake.
Why this recipe works
- The pumpkin cake batter is made from scratch with real pumpkin puree and spices for better flavor and texture than any box mix.
- The batter is made in one bowl in all of 10 minutes, and that includes time spent opening a can of pumpkin puree. It’s super, dupe simple and no-fail thanks to the pumpkin which adds moisture to avoid the problem of cupcakes drying out.
- Did I already mention the cinnamon cream cheese frosting that I could basically eat with just a spoon? Yeah, that stuff is gooooood.
- I have noticed that even folks who generally turn up their noses at pumpkin desserts can’t resist them in cupcake form.
Recipe Ingredients
- Pumpkin: You can make homemade pumpkin puree (actually a really fun project that will have your kids oohing and ahhing) or just use the canned kind from the store. Just be sure it’s pumpkin puree and not pumpkin filling which has spices and stuff added to it.
- Dark brown sugar: If you only have light brown sugar, that will work, but I like the extra depth and molasses flavor of the dark brown sugar for this recipe.
- Warm Spices: There’s cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger in these pumpkins, although you could just replace them with pumpkin spice if you have a jar of it on hand. But I rarely have pumpkin pie spice in my cupboard since it’s just one more jar and I only use it for a couple months out of the year.
How to Make Moist Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Mix the wet ingredients: Beat the pumpkin, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla together in a large bowl until smooth and combined. You can do this with a hand mixer, stand mixer, or even a whisk.
- Add dry ingredients: Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger. Stir just until combined.
- Add in the milk: Stir in the milk until the batter is smooth and combined.
- Fill cupcake liners and bake: Place cupcake liners in a muffin pan and fill them each about 2/3 to ¾ full. You don’t want to overfill or the cupcakes will spill out over the top as they rise. Bake for 16-18 minutes until the tops bounce back to the touch without leaving an indentation. Cool completely before frosting.
- Frost and decorate: Make the frosting by beating cream cheese and butter with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon, beating until combined. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip or a heavy-duty Ziploc bag with one end snipped off and pipe generous swirls of frosting onto the tops of each cupcake. Press a candy pumpkin into the center of the frosting to finish.
Recipe FAQ’s
Because they are made with a cream cheese frosting, yes, you should store these cupcakes in the refrigerator. They will last for about 4-5 days in the fridge.
The recipe will need to be doubled to make a 2 layer cake, but could then be baked in two 8-inch or 9-inch pans to make a layer cake.
You can freeze the bottom cake part of the cupcakes, but I don’t recommend freezing cream cheese frosting. The cake part will last for at least 2-3 months in the frozen though.
Sure! Just fill them about ¾ full and bake for 11-14 minutes until they are done. Everybody loves little bite-size cupcakes!
Recipe Tips
- Using room temperature ingredients gives the best results when baking cakes and cupcakes. They combine together better, which results in a more even bake.
- Don’t overmix the cupcake batter. Mixing the batter too long can result in denser cupcakes instead of the light, wonder crumb we are striving for.
- Bake the cupcakes in the center of the oven or consider rotating the pan partway through baking so they rise evenly.
Variations
If you want to change things up, these pumpkin cupcakes would be delicious with chocolate frosting, the graham cracker frosting from my s’mores cupcakes, or eggnog frosting. Or make it Halloween themed with a black and orange version of this homemade rainbow chip frosting.
Another idea would be to add mini chocolate chips or chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter or the frosting. Or drizzle the cupcakes with caramel!
More Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Light & Creamy Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Pumpkin Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Frosting
- 1/2 cup salted butter softened to room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pumpkin candy corn for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, beat the pumpkin, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger, mixing just until combined. Mix in the milk.
- Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full with batter, then bake for 16-18 minutes until the tops bounce back when you press them with a finger.
- Remove and cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Then add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon, beating well. Pipe onto the cooled cupcakes, then top with a pumpkin candy corn for decoration.
Notes
Nutrition
More Fall Recipes
Beverages
- Apple Cider Milk Tea With Boba And Caramel Apple from Magical Ingredients
- Apple Cider Old Fashioned from Books n’ Cooks
Breakfast and Baked Goods
- Apple Cider Donut Muffins from Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Pear and Apple Cider Scones from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Spiced Pumpkin Coffee Cake from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Side Dishes
- Balsamic Roasted Purple Brussels Sprouts W/ Grapes & Chestnuts from Savory Moments
- Cinnamon Sweet Potato Pumpkin Muffins from Blogghetti
- Fall Roasted Vegetable Medley from Family Around the Table
- Glazed Cippolini Onions With Rosemary from Life Love and Good Food
- Sweet Potato Latkes from Take Two Tapas
Main Dishes
- Apple Cider Pulled Pork With Apple Slaw from Simple and Savory
- Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce from Jen around the world
Desserts
- Apple Blondies from Eat Move Make
- Apple Turnover from Art of Natural Living
- Butterscotch Pie from Lemon Blossoms
- Gf Cinnamon Graham Cracker Cupcakes from Frugal & Fit
- No- Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake With Salted Caramel Glaze from West Via Midwest
- Oatmeal Scotchies from Palatable Pastime
- Pear Bundt Cake from The Fresh Cooky
- Pear Cobbler from Fresh April Flours
- Pear Crisp Ice Cream from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
- Pecan Butter Cookies from An Affair from the Heart
- Pecan Pie Bars from Devour Dinner
- Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies from SueBee Homemaker
- Rosemary Pecan Shortbread With Honey-Ginger Icing from The Spiffy Cookie
- Sweet Tea Panna Cotta from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Turtle Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches from That Recipe
I love pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I’m making these this weekend!
I want to sink my teeth into those cupcakes. Pumpkin Spice is my favorite fall flavor.
Oh, that cinnamon cream cheese frosting is THE BEST on top of super moist cupcakes! YUM.
These are almost too cute to eat, but I’ll muddle through somehow!
These cupcakes scream “Fall Flavors”. They look and sound incredible.
These sound so yummy! I love pumpkin cupcakes.
Making these today for my neighbors, who can resist them! Perfect for a mid-afternoon treat!
The frosting looks so creamy!! And I love that little pumpkin on top. Great find!
These pumpkin cupcakes look perfect! Delicious and the cream cheese frosting looks wonderful.
These look adorable and delicious!
The color of these cupcakes just screams fall! And the pumpkin with the spices in there make them look irresistible. Yum!
A classic fall cupcake. I’d love one right now with a cold glass of milk.
If you’re making these as cake layers, how long would you recommend cooling them in the pan prior to removal? What would the baking time be? If you don’t know, that’s OK! I just thought I’d ask.
I usually wait 5-10 minutes then flip them onto a wire cooling rack. 🙂