Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes – Light and tender pumpkin cupcakes with a rich and sweet maple cream cheese frosting. Easy to make and full of delicious pumpkin flavor. This pumpkin cupcake recipe makes the perfect fall dessert!
I love to bake all kinds of easy pumpkin recipes. These pumpkin spice cupcakes are so simple to make, as well as pumpkin bars, pumpkin dump cake, pumpkin streusel coffee cake and pumpkin blondies.
By Alicia of The Baker Upstairs for I Heart Naptime.
Pumpkin Cupcakes
Who else is excited for fall? As soon as I send the kids back to school, I start dreaming about crisp autumn days, warm hot chocolate, fuzzy sweaters, and pumpkin everything! These pumpkin spice cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting are the perfect fall dessert. They’re easy to make (you don’t even need a mixer!) and are full of delicious pumpkin flavor.
The pumpkin makes these cupcakes super moist and tender and the sweet maple cream cheese frosting is the perfect complement to the subtle spice of the pumpkin cupcakes. My kids were happy to get in the kitchen and help me make these and I love that the recipe is simple enough that they can help! I think their favorite part was definitely sampling the frosting, but they both really enjoyed the cupcakes as well. :)
How to make pumpkin spice cupcakes
These pumpkin spice cupcakes are super easy and can be whipped up in no time. Just follow the simple steps below to get started. Scroll down for the printable pumpkin cupcake recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare 12 muffin cups by lining with paper liners.
- Whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, sugar, canola oil, and eggs, and mix until well blended. Mix in the flour mixture until combined. Scoop into prepared muffin tin, filling 1/2 – 2/3 full.
- Bake pumpkin muffins 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove and let cool on a rack.
- 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. If necessary, add more powdered sugar until the frosting is firm enough to hold its shape but still light and fluffy. Frost the cooled pumpkin spice cupcakes and enjoy!
Quick tips for pumpkin cupcakes
- To make pumpkin cupcakes more festive, I like to top with colored sprinkles, candy corn or candy pumpkins.
- This pumpkin cupcake recipe can easily be turned into mini cupcakes. The batter should make around 24 mini pumpkin cupcakes.
- A buttercream frosting would be delicious on these pumpkin spice cupcakes too.
- Sometimes I turn these pumpkin cupcakes into pumpkin squares instead. Just fill a baking dish with the batter and bake until cooked through. Top with frosting once cooled.
- Store pumpkin cupcakes in the refrigerator in an airtight container. The cupcakes will keep for about 4-5 days.
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 eggs
For the maple cream cheese frosting:
- 8 tablespoons butter (softened)
- 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- 4 cups powdered sugar (more as needed)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoons maple extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare 12 muffin cups by lining with paper liners. Whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, sugar, canola oil, and eggs, and mix until well blended. Mix in the flour mixture until combined. Scoop into prepared muffin tin, filling 1/2 – 2/3 full. Bake pumpkin cupcakes 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove and let cool on a rack.
- 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. If necessary, add more powdered sugar until the frosting is firm enough to hold its shape but still light and fluffy. Frost the cooled pumpkin spice cupcakes and enjoy!
Nutrition
Anything Pumpkin is a huge win in this family! That combo of cream cheese and pumpkin is just so dang good, and with the sprinkles on top these will be gone in seconds at my house. Awesome recipe!
Hope you enjoy! So glad it’s finally getting to pumpkin season! :)
Baking during Fall is the BEST! These cupcakes look incredible and the kit to decorate them looks really fun too!
Fall baking is my favorite! Hope you enjoy these! :)
So good!! Love anything with pumpkin and these cupcakes are the best!
These cupcakes are so cute and I’m a sucker for anything Pumpkin Spice!