Pumpkin Spice Cupcake Recipe

Moist and tender pumpkin cupcakes made with real pumpkin and topped with a delectable brown butter cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time15

Bake Time12

Total Time27

Servings: 9 cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Line 9 wells of a 12-count cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
In a large bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and vegetable oil until smooth. Add the egg, pumpkin purée, and vanilla extract and whisk again until everything is combined.
½ cup (100g) firmly packed light brown sugar, ¼ cup (56mL) vegetable oil, 1 large egg, 1 cup pumpkin purée2, ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a spatula until just combined.
Spoon batter evenly into the cupcake liners filling ½ to ⅔ of the way full (I like to use an ice cream scoop with a trigger– one scant scoop full). Bake the cupcakes for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before decorating with frosting.

In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the brown butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth.
¼ cup (57g) brown butter, 4 ounces (113g) full fat block cream cheese
Turn the mixer speed down to low and add the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla extract and salt and continue mixing until smooth.
1 and ½ cups (180g) powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, generous pinch of salt

Frost the cupcakes using a large zip top bag with the corner snipped off or a pastry bag fitted with your decorating tip of choice.
Store cupcakes covered tightly at room temperature up to 4 days or in the refrigerator up to 6 days. Cupcakes can be frozen, preferably unfrosted, for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Egg: it is always a good rule of thumb to use room temperature eggs when using melted butter. To bring egg to room temperature quickly, place in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
Pumpkin: I always measure pumpkin purée with a measuring cup as the moisture content can wildly change the weight measurements, depending on the brand.
Brown butter: you will need your brown butter at room temperature. I have tested this recipe with 57g of unsalted butter cooked down to about 45g of brown butter (the reduced amount is due to loss of moisture while cooking). You do not need a full 57g of brown butter. If you do not know how to make brown butter, please see my full tutorial about how to brown butter.

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