Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
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This easy Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe is delicious and so simple. A wonderful way to enjoy the pumpkin spice flavor of fall in a dessert.
These easy pumpkin cupcakes are soft, moist, and filled with warm pumpkin spice flavor. Made from scratch with canned pumpkin and topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, they’re a simple fall dessert that feels special without a lot of complicated ingredients or steps.
These cute pumpkin cupcakes are great as an easy Halloween dessert or for parties, fall potlucks, Thanksgiving dessert, or as an afternoon baking project.
These are a great way to welcome fall!
Why You Will Love this Recipe
Easy to Make From Scratch Just simple pantry ingredients and canned pumpkin are needed.
Fall Flavor Pumpkin pie spice give every bite that classic cozy fall flavor.
Make-Ahead Friendly – Bake the cupcakes ahead and frost them when you’re ready to serve.
Perfect for Fall Gatherings – Great for Halloween parties, Thanksgiving, potlucks, bake sales, and family get-togethers.
Easy to Decorate – You don’t need decorating skills. Sprinkles and candy pumpkins make them festive in minutes.
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out my Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes that are a streamlined pumpkin cupcake, made with the help of a boxed mix. It’s great for days when you need a quick recipe.
From Scratch Pumpkin Cupcake Ingredients
- Pumpkin – You want to use solid packed pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling for this recipe. I use canned pumpkin puree but you ca also use homemade pumpkin puree.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice – You can make your own with this homemade pumpkin pie spice recipe.
- Butter – Let it soften at room temperature so it creams easily with the sugar.
- Eggs – Room-temperature eggs incorporate more easily into the batter.
- Cream cheese – Use full-fat block-style cream cheese rather than whipped cream cheese for a thicker frosting.
- Powdered sugar – Add it gradually until the frosting reaches your preferred consistency
- Cupcake Liners – I like these festive liners for cupcakes.Â
How to Make Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
The full recipe is below, but the steps are pretty easy.
- Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line your muffin pans with cupcake liners.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Make the batter. Cream the butter with both sugars. Beat in the eggs and pumpkin, then gradually mix in the dry ingredients just until combined.
- Bake. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners and bake for 15–20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool and decorate. Cool completely before piping on the cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Finish with sprinkles or candy pumpkins if desired.
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Time Saving Tips
- Measure the dry ingredients ahead. Combine the flour, leavening, salt, and pumpkin pie spice earlier in the day so they’re ready when you want to bake.
- Use a cookie scoop. A large cookie scoop makes filling cupcake liners faster and helps keep the cupcakes evenly sized.
- Bake ahead. Make the cupcakes a day ahead, cool completely, and store them unfrosted in an airtight container. Frost before serving.
- Use disposable piping bags. They make decorating quick and cleanup much easier.
- Freeze for later. Freeze unfrosted cupcakes so you have an easy fall dessert ready when you need one.
Don’t forget to bookmark this recipe.
How to Store Pumpkin Cupcakes
Because these cupcakes are topped with cream cheese frosting, store frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days. For the best texture, let them sit at room temperature briefly before serving.
Recipe FAQs
Can I make pumpkin cupcakes ahead of time?
Yes. Bake the cupcakes a day ahead and store them unfrosted in an airtight container. Frost them before serving.
Can I freeze pumpkin cupcakes?
Yes. I recommend freezing them without frosting, then thawing and decorating when you’re ready to serve.
Can I use pumpkin pie filling instead of pumpkin puree?
No. Pumpkin pie filling already contains sweeteners and spices and will change the recipe. Use 100% pure pumpkin.
Do pumpkin cupcakes need to be refrigerated?
Once topped with cream cheese frosting, the cupcakes should be stored in the refrigerator.
More Fall and Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Mug Cake – so simple and a quick dessert for one or two people.
- Pumpkin Twists – Another quick dessert or brunch recipe.
- Pumpkin Pepper Soup – A savory pumpkin soup
Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe
Equipment
- muffin pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice ** see notes
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 4 eggs room temperature, beaten
- 1 15oz can solid-pack pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 6-8 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F Line cupcake pans with liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice, set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat brown sugar, granulated and butter together until light and creamy.
- Add eggs and pumpkin, beat on medium speed until well combined. Gradually add flour mixture to the wet ingredients until well combined.
- Divide batter into cupcake liners using a cookie dough scoop or large spoon.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Remove from oven onto wire rack to cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a large bowl beat cream cheese until smooth and creamyAdd butter and beat until smoothGradually add powdered sugar, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Beat in vanilla and cinnamon until smoothFrost cupcakes and decorate as desired.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days in a covered container.
Notes
- Don’t overmix the batter once you add the flour. Mix just until everything is incorporated for tender cupcakes.
- Fill each cupcake liner about â…” full to give the cupcakes room to rise.
- Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before frosting or the cream cheese frosting can soften and slide off.
- If the frosting seems too soft for piping, refrigerate it briefly before decorating.
- For evenly sized cupcakes, use the same cookie scoop for every liner
Nutrition
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These are so gorgeous! Ah, I love this time of year so much.
Thank you – isn’t fall wonderful?!