Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Published October 21, 2017. Updated October 25, 2018

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Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are hands down one of the best fall treats! They are deliciously pumpkiny, perfectly soft and moist, and they have a perfect autumn spice blend.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

These are perfect for a weekend dessert or for just about any celebration, at any time of the year. Why wait for fall for every year these decadent cupcakes??

I mean I’d be totally excited to have these on my birthday in the middle of the summer!

And you may even find people reaching for these instead of that pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving this year. Their flavor is so irresistible and everyone will fall in love with this luscious Cream Cheese Frosting.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients Needed for the Cupcakes

  • All-purpose flour
  • Baking powder and baking soda
  • Salt
  • Spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves
  • Unsalted butter
  • Vegetable oil
  • Brown sugar and granulated sugar
  • Eggs
  • Vanilla
  • Canned pumpkin
  • Orange juice

How to Make Pumpkin Cupcakes

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together dry ingredients.
  • In an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together sugars. Add in butter and half of the oil and whip until pale and fluffy. Mix in remaining oil then blend in eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla.
  • Mix in flour alternating with pumpkin and orange juice.
  • Divide batter among lined muffins cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
  • Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean.
  • Cool then frost.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

What Should I Use for the Pumpkin Decoration?

  • I decorated these with some pumpkins I made with marzipan (a store-bought sweetened almond paste) and gel food coloring. But they are time consuming.
  • So for a shortcut you can decorate them with those pumpkin treats that taste like candy corn that are everywhere this time of year.
  • Or I also love to use the Wilton royal icing pumpkins – I buy them at Michaels but you can also find them on Amazon here.

Mini marzipan pumpkins for pumpkin cupcakes.

Tips for Pumpkin Cupcakes and Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Stick with a blend of butter and oil. Butter for flavor, oil for moisture.
  • Use both brown sugar and granulated sugar. Brown sugar adds a nice flavor.
  • Stick with canned pumpkin for a consistent result.
  • If desired swap the spices here for 2 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice.
  • Cool completely before frosting otherwise the frosting will melt away.
  • Keep the frosting cool. Cream cheese frosting can be finicky, but if kept cool it’s just fine.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

A Must Have Fall Treat

If you only pick out a couple of things to bake this fall, I highly highly recommend that these be one of them!

They are easy, they’re perfectly festive for the season at hand and they are 100% satisfying and utterly delicious! A must on that to-do list this time of year!

16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
5 from 10 votes

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

My favorite pumpkin cupcakes! Soft and moist with the perfect pumpkin spice flavor.
Servings: 14
Prep30 minutes
Cook24 minutes

Ingredients

Frosting

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves for 20 seconds, set aside.
  • In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together brown sugar and granulated sugar until no lumps remain. Add in butter and half of the oil and whip until pale and fluffy. Mix in remaining oil then blend in eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla.
  • Add in 1/2 of the flour mixture then blend just until nearly combined then add in pumpkin and orange juice and mix until nearly combined. Add in last 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix until nearly combined, then remove bowl from stand mixer and fold with a rubber spatula just until combined. 
  • Divide batter among 14 paper lined muffins cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven 18 - 22 minutes until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Cool in muffin tin several minutes then transfer to a wire rack and cool about 10 minutes. Then transfer to an airtight container to finish cooling (this just helps seal in moisture and keep them really moist). 
  • For the cream cheese frosting:
  • In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and powdered sugar and whip until light and fluffy (at this point I recommend freezing or chilling frosting in refrigerator for a bit, returning to mixer and stirring occasionally, for a more stable consistency). Pipe or spread frosting over cupcakes then store in refrigerator in an airtight container. Bring nearly to room temp before serving.
  • Originally shared Oct. 2014. If you are in love with the old one I shared it was just one I got from Chow HERE.
  • Recipe source: Cooking Classy
Nutrition Facts
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Amount Per Serving
Calories 417 Calories from Fat 180
% Daily Value*
Fat 20g31%
Saturated Fat 13g81%
Cholesterol 67mg22%
Sodium 194mg8%
Potassium 119mg3%
Carbohydrates 56g19%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 43g48%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 3185IU64%
Vitamin C 2.9mg4%
Calcium 46mg5%
Iron 1.2mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.
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