The Best Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
These soft, moist pumpkin cupcakes are packed with warm fall flavor and topped with luscious brown sugar cream cheese frosting. Perfectly spiced, tender, and easy to make, they’re the ultimate autumn dessert for Thanksgiving, Halloween, or cozy weekends.
Ingredients
- 170 g (1 1/3 cups) all-purpose flour
- 225 g (1 cup) dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 280 g (1 cup) pumpkin puree, room temperature
- 75 g (1/3 cup) vegetable oil, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 200 g (14 tbsp) butter, slightly softened
- 15 g (1 tbsp) dark brown sugar, packed
- 100 g (3.5 oz) full-fat cream cheese, slightly softened
- 345 g (2 3/4 cups) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (for frosting)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Divide batter evenly among 12 cupcake liners (about 1/4 cup per liner). Bake for 23–24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Remove butter and cream cheese from the fridge 10 minutes before starting. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar on high speed for 5 minutes. Scrape bowl, then mix for 2 more minutes.
- Add vanilla and cream cheese. Beat for 1 minute until smooth. On low speed, gradually add powdered sugar in two batches, mixing between additions. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until fluffy.
- Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes using a large round tip. Optionally dust with pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon.