Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
These Pumpkin Cupcakes are soft, tender, and topped with luscious brown butter cream cheese frosting. A perfectly cozy fall treat!
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Everyone’s favorite fall flavor gets baked into these moist Pumpkin Cupcakes, topped with a luscious brown butter cream cheese frosting. This homemade pumpkin cupcake recipe is a must-try and delivers plenty of flavor and the perfect cupcake texture, making them some of the best cupcakes you’ll bake this fall season.
Warm cozy spices and brown butter add flavor, while the thick batter creates an irresistibly soft cupcake texture. If you’re looking for inspiration for the best pumpkin dessert recipes, these just might become your new favorite pumpkin cake, in cupcake form.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Pumpkin Cake – Tender, moist cupcakes that come together easily and are the perfect base for the cream cheese frosting. This low maintenance cupcake batter makes the best pumpkin cupcakes.
- Brown Butter Frosting – Rich, tangy cream cheese frosting that is speckled with bits of toasty brown butter to make the pumpkin cupcakes shine.
- Quick and Easy – The batter comes together in minutes with just a whisk, for a stress-free recipe that still tastes bakery-worthy.
Key Ingredients
Only a few basic ingredients are required – most you may already have on hand!
- Powdered Sugar: Also known as confectioners’ sugar, this sweetens the frosting. It also helps thicken the frosting, so don’t reduce the amount, or you will end up with runny cream cheese frosting.
- Pumpkin: You’ll need one cup of pumpkin puree. Be sure that it’s 100% pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie mix, which is used for pumpkin pie filling and will not work in this cake recipe.
- Oil: Adds moisture to give the cupcakes a moist crumb that will stay soft even in the fridge.
- Brown Sugar: Either light brown sugar or dark brown sugar will work.
- Butter: I like to use unsalted butter, but salted will also work fine. It gets melted down and browned for the frosting, so the butter does not need to be set out in advance.
- Cream Cheese: Be sure to use blocks of cream cheese, and not the spreadable variety, as this will affect the consistency of the frosting.
How to make pumpkin cupcakes
- Make the pumpkin cake batter. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients, which include flour, leaveners, salt, and spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, oil, brown sugar, and eggs. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and whisk until well combined.
- Bake the cupcakes. Use a cookie scoop or measuring cup to portion the cupcake batter into a muffin tin, lined with cupcake liners. The liners should be about two-thirds full. Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes, until the cupcakes spring back to the touch. Allow to cool completely before adding frosting.
- Brown the butter. Melt the butter in a saucepan and allow it to cook over medium-low heat until the butter turns golden and the milk solids, which sink to the bottom, turn toasty brown. The butter will also have a nutty aroma. Remove the brown butter from the heat immediately and allow it to cool and solidify completely.
- Make the cream cheese frosting. Once the butter is solid, add it to a mixing bowl. You could also do this in a stand mixer. Cream the butter until smooth, then add the cream cheese and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl, then add half the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Mix until the powdered sugar is mostly incorporated, then add the remaining half. Mix just until everything is combined and smooth. Be careful not to overmix.
- Frost and decorate. Allow the frosting to chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes before adding to the cupcakes – this will make it easier to pipe. Add a large round piping tip to a piping bag and fill with the brown butter cream cheese frosting. Pipe a swirl on top of the cupcakes and finish with a pumpkin topper of your choice!
Pumpkin Cupcake FAQs
What is the best way to store the cupcakes?
Store the cupcake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Can I use pumpkin pie spice in the cupcakes?
Yes, if you prefer a stronger pumpkin spice flavor, you can swap out the ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg for pumpkin pie spice instead, which also includes ground ginger, ground cloves, and ground allspice, and sometimes black pepper and/or cardamom. You can even make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice blend with these spices if you’d like. I prefer to keep the spices simple so they don’t overpower the pumpkin flavor.
What piping tip did you use on the cupcakes?
I used an Ateco 807 tip to pipe a simple swirl on the cupcakes. You could also use the back of a spoon, a kitchen knife, or a small offset spatula to frost the cupcakes for a more rustic look.
What can I use for the decoration or garnish on top?
I used wooden cocktail picks with little pumpkins on top. You could also top the cupcakes with edible sugar pumpkins, mellowcreme pumpkins, festive fall sprinkles, or keep it simple with just a sprinkle of cinnamon!
Variations
- Make pumpkin bars by using the same batter recipe and baking it in a 9” x 13” pan, then top with the brown butter cream cheese frosting.
- Use my classic Cream Cheese Frosting recipe or add a teaspoon of cinnamon to make cinnamon cream cheese frosting.
- Top the cupcakes with my Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting – if you haven’t had the pumpkin-chocolate duo, you’ve got to give it a try!
- For the non-cream cheese lovers, top with vanilla buttercream instead, or add my Homemade Caramel for a tasty caramel frosting.
Baking Tip: Weigh Your Ingredients!
I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients rather than using measuring cups because it is the most accurate way to bake. Weighing your ingredients will give you more consistent results with your recipes and a better success rate, every time. Using a scale also saves you dishes which means easier cleanup! I provide gram measurements in all my recipes and this is the scale I love to use.
If you make this recipe and love it, be sure to leave a comment below. Happy baking!
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Cupcakes
- 1¼ cup (160g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup (240g) pumpkin puree*
- ½ cup (120g) vegetable or canola oil
- 1 cup 200g brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup (1 stick or 113g) unsalted butter
- 1 block (8-ounce or 227g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2½ cups (300g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Pumpkin Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, oil, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla, and whisk just until combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and give the batter a few final folds.
- Scoop the cupcake batter into the prepared muffin tins using a 3 Tablespoon (size 20 or 2-ounce) cookie scoop.
- Bake the cupcakes at 350°F for 18-20 minutes, until the center of the cupcakes spring back to the touch (or a toothpick comes out mostly clean). Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
- Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting: In a small pot, add the butter and melt it over medium-low heat. Stirring constantly, brown the butter until it becomes foamy on top and turns a deep golden color. You’ll know it’s done when you see darker brown bits on the bottom of the pan and the butter has a nutty aroma. Set aside to cool and completely solidify – you can place it in the fridge to speed it up.
- Add the soft, solidified brown butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat the butter for about 30 seconds, until smooth. Add the cream cheese and mix until combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Add half the powdered sugar along with the vanilla and salt. Mix until mostly incorporated, then add the remaining half of powdered sugar. Scrape the bowl again, then mix until the frosting just until it’s combined – be careful not to overmix. Chill the frosting in the fridge for about 30 minutes before piping it on the cupcakes.
- Decorating: Once the frosting has chilled, fill a piping bag fitted with a large round tip and add the cream cheese frosting. Pipe a swirl of frosting on top of the cooled cupcakes, then finish with a pumpkin pick or edible topper, if desired!
Notes
- *Pumpkin Puree: Be sure to use pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie mix
- Storing: Store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
