Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
These pumpkin cupcakes are quick and easy to make, perfectly moist and fluffy and flavorful, and topped with the most heavenly cream cheese frosting.
The pumpkin cake batter in this recipe is wonderfully quick and easy to mix up by hand (no mixer required) and rises in the oven to form the most perfectly soft and fluffy cupcakes. It is mixed with the perfect amount of pumpkin spice and vanilla to bring out the best of those warm pumpkin flavors we all love. And it is paired with the dreamiest cream cheese frosting, which I will forever consider pumpkin’s match-made-in-flavor-heaven.
This pumpkin cupcakes recipe is a straight-ahead classic, but one I adore so, so much. So if you love a good pumpkin cupcake as much as I do, give it a try soon because it never disappoints!
Want to customize this pumpkin cupcake recipe a bit? Feel free to…
Add nuts: Stir 1/4 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter if you would like. (Or you can sprinkle them on top of the cream cheese frosting.)
Add chocolate chips: Stir 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips into the batter if you would like. (Or you can sprinkle them on top of the cream cheese frosting.)
Use applesauce: If you would like to lighten up the cupcakes, feel free to use 1/4 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup oil (instead of 1/2 cup oil).
Add cinnamon to the frosting: Mix 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or more/less, to taste) into the frosting, instead of sprinkling a pinch on top.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt*
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- 1/2 cup canola oil or vegetable oil*
- 1/3 cup granulated (white) sugar
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING INGREDIENTS:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 3 to 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of fine sea salt