Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
These spiced pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting are moist, soft, and full of fall flavor! They’re made with pumpkin puree and sour cream for extra moisture, tenderness, and squishiness, and they’re each frosted with a swirl of cinnamon cream cheese frosting. If you’re ready to lean into cozy fall feels and your not-so-secret pumpkin spice obsession, you need to make these little handheld cakes immediately!
Why You’ll Love These Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Moist texture and tender crumb. These cupcakes are made with real pumpkin puree, sour cream, and a little oil, which keep the cake soft and moist.
- Warm fall spices. Cinnamon and pumpkin spice give these cupcakes a quintessential fall flavor.
- Four words: cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Tangy, sweet, buttery, and spiced, this frosting is the perfect complement to the spiced cake.
- Beginner-friendly. No stand mixer? No problem! These cupcakes are mixed up using an electric, handheld blender instead. Or you could also just use a whisk and some elbow grease.
Cupcakes Made With a Superfood
Pumpkins are not only a symbol of fall, they’re also a superfood, meaning they’re packed with essential nutrients. Pumpkins are a good source of potassium, iron, fiber, and vitamins. Adding pumpkin to baked goods gives them some extra nutritional value. We’re not saying these pumpkin cupcakes are a health food, but they do have some additional nutrients, which is never a bad thing.
Ingredients for Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Dry ingredients – all-purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice make up the dry parts of the cupcake batter.
- Sugars – use both granulated sugar and brown sugar. Granulated sugar provides sweetness, and brown sugar adds moisture and caramel and molasses notes.
- Vegetable oil – adding oil to cake batter ensures the cake will remain moist and tender, even after a few days.
- Pumpkin puree – canned pumpkin puree is ready to use, but you can also make your own by roasting and pureeing pumpkin yourself.
- Sour cream – no one likes a dry cake and adding sour cream to cake batter makes it even more moist. You can also use plain Greek yogurt instead.
- Eggs – eggs help bind the batter and create lightness and lift so that the cakes aren’t dense.
- Lemon juice – lemon brings out the natural flavors of the pumpkin, and its acidity reacts with the baking soda, ensuring a soft cake with a good rise.
- Vanilla – this rounds out the warm fall notes in the pumpkin cupcakes.
- Frosting – the frosting is spiced, sweet, a little tangy, and a great cupcake topper. It’s made with cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and a touch of sea salt.
How to Make These Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake tray with liners.
- Mix the dry ingredients together (flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices) in a bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the sugars and the oil together with an electric beater or a whisk.
- Mix in the pumpkin puree and then the sour cream.
- Beat in the eggs, then the vanilla and the lemon juice.
- Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients (careful not to overmix).
- Fill each cupcake liner about ⅔ of the way full with batter (about 3 tbsp per liner).
- Bake for 17-19 minutes, then let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting them.
- For the frosting, mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and sea salt with an electric beater until smooth.
- Frost the cupcakes using an offset spatula or a piping bag. Decorate with an extra dusting of cinnamon.
Want Fewer Pumpkin Cupcakes? Make a Half Batch!
The full recipe makes 16 cupcakes, but we know that not everyone wants that many cupcakes, so here’s what you’ll need for a half batch:
Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Dry ingredients: ¾ cup all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled, about 94g), ½ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, ¼ tsp sea salt
- Sugars: ¼ cup granulated sugar + ¼ cup brown sugar (packed)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (neutral flavored)
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ tbsp lemon juice
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp vanilla
- ⅛ tsp salt
Note: Follow the same instructions for a full batch to make a half batch of cupcakes. The half batch recipe makes 8 cupcakes.
Serving Suggestions
We love to enjoy these cupcakes frosted and with a cup of hot coffee (regular or decaf)! They’re also great with chai or Earl Grey tea, or a classic glass of milk, if that’s your thing.
These would be an excellent dessert to serve for Friendsgiving or any other holiday gathering! (Tip: top them with candy pumpkins, sprinkles, or candy spiders for a festive Halloween twist!)
Tips & Tricks
Variations & Substitutions
- Lighter Option: Swap half the oil for unsweetened applesauce.
- Extra Decadent: Add mini chocolate chips to the cupcake batter or swirl caramel into the frosting. For a great caramel recipe, check out our Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce.
- Frosting Alternatives: Add a little maple syrup and/or maple extract to the cream cheese frosting for extra fall vibes, or make a classic buttercream if you don’t like cream cheese.
How to Store Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
For best results, frost the cupcakes the day you plan to serve/eat them. If you don’t plan to serve all of them, we recommend storing the unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container in a cool dry place for 2 to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to a week. Store the frosting in the fridge, then let come to room temperature before using to frost cupcakes.
FAQs: Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
No. Pumpkin pie filling is sweetened with sugar and seasoned with spices, so it would make these cupcakes way too sweet. Pumpkin puree is 100% pumpkin that has been pureed with nothing else.
Yes! They both work the same way to moisturize the cake and provide some acidity to react with the baking soda. Greek yogurt is typically less fatty than sour cream, so it may make the cake less moist and rich, but the results will be fairly similar overall.
Of course! Pumpkin pie spice is usually a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and sometimes cloves or even black pepper. Feel free to make your own and experiment with your favorite blend!
Use oil instead of butter (it’s liquid and room temperature, which keeps the cakes lighter and fluffier instead of dense), add dairy fat like sour cream or yogurt, and don’t overbake the cupcakes.
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour spooned & leveled (about 187g)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cups pumpkin puree
- ½ cups sour cream
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake tray with liners.
- Mix the dry ingredients together (flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice) in a bowl and set aside.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, ½ tsp fine sea salt
- In a large bowl, mix the granulated and brown sugars and the oil together with an electric beater or a whisk.½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup vegetable oil
- Mix in the pumpkin puree and then the sour cream.1 cups pumpkin puree, ½ cups sour cream
- Beat in the eggs, then the vanilla and the lemon juice.2 eggs, 2 tsp vanilla, 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the sugars, oil, pumpkin, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until combined, but be careful not to overmix or the cake will be gummy.
- Fill each cupcake liner about ⅔ of the way full with batter (about 3 tbsp per liner).
- Bake for 17-19 minutes, then let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting them.
- For the frosting, mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and sea salt with an electric beater until smooth.8 oz cream cheese, ½ cup butter, 3 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla, ¼ tsp salt
- Frost the cupcakes using an offset spatula or a piping bag. Decorate with an extra dusting of cinnamon.
Final Thoughts
These pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting are the best way to celebrate fall! They’re soft and tender and so, so spongy. Make these for yourself or your friends this autumnal season. If you do make them, be sure to rate and comment on this recipe and tag us on Instagram!
