Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Soft and moist pumpkin spice cupcakes topped with a sweet and tangy maple cream cheese frosting. This easy pumpkin cupcake recipe is full of delicious fall flavor!

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Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

These pumpkin spice cupcakes are everything you want in a fall dessert, moist, tender, and full of cozy pumpkin spice flavor. The pumpkin puree keeps them soft, like pumpkin muffins, but the maple cream cheese frosting makes them party-ready!

They’re easy to make (no mixer required!) and always a hit at Halloween parties, Thanksgiving dinner, or any fall get-together. Pumpkin cupcakes are simpler than pumpkin pie but every bit as festive!

And if you’re feeding a crowd, my pumpkin bundt cake is another seasonal favorite worth trying.

Recipe Ingredients

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.

• Flour: All-purpose flour works best. It is thick and creates the base of the pumpkin cupcakes.
• Pumpkin pie spice: All the pumpkin spice fall flavors in one bottle, ground allspice, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, and ground cloves.
• Baking soda: This helps the cupcakes rise while baking.
• Cinnamon: Just a pinch gives a beautiful flavor of sweet and woody flavor.
• Pumpkin puree: Homemade or store-bought pumpkin puree works great.
• Sugars: Brown sugar and granulated sugar are both used in this pumpkin cupcake recipe. Both sugars bring in sweetness but also give the cupcakes a soft texture.
• Canola oil: A moist cupcake comes from the oil. You can also use vegetable oil too.
• Eggs: Have the eggs at room temperature before mixing them together.

How to Make Pumpkin Spice Cupcake Recipe

1. Combine. Whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Whisk. In a large bowl, whisk together or use a hand mixer to mix the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, sugar, canola oil, and eggs and mix until well blended. Mix in the flour mixture until combined.
3. Fill muffin tin. Scoop into prepared muffin tin with cupcake liners.
4. Bake: Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack.
5. Mix. For the frosting, beat together the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar slowly and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and maple extract.
6. Frosting. Frost the cooled pumpkin spice cupcakes with a 1M frosting tip or piping bag if desired.

Frosting for Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

The maple cream cheese frosting is the perfect match for the cupcakes. It comes together in 5 minutes with just 5 ingredients. You could use a classic cream cheese frosting or cinnamon buttercream, but the maple extract adds a sweet, cozy flavor that makes these pumpkin spice cupcakes stand out.

Make sure the frosting is thick enough to hold its shape when piping. I like to use a 1M star tip for a bakery-style swirl. No piping tip? Just snip the corner off a zip-top bag and pipe it on that way.

Recipe Tips

• Pumpkin puree vs. pie filling: Make sure to use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling already has sugar and spices added, which will make the cupcakes overly sweet.
• Filling the pan. Don’t overfill the muffin cups, about ½ to ⅔ full is just right so they have room to rise. A large cookie scoop gives you the perfect portion every time.
• Toothpick test. Check doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, they’re ready. Avoid opening the oven too often, since heat loss can cause the cupcakes to deflate.
• Cool before frosting. Let the pumpkin cupcakes cool completely before adding frosting. If they’re even a little warm, the frosting will melt and lose its shape.
• Top with extras. For an extra-special touch, drizzle with caramel sauce and finish with a sprinkle of cinnamon.