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Pumpkin cupcakes in orange liners with cinnamon cream cheese frosting on top, on a wooden board with a pumpkin in that background.

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.
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Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:19 minutes
Total Time:34 minutes
Course: Baked Goods, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cupcake, Easy, Fall
Servings: 16 cupcakes

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.