A moist and delicious recipe for homemade pumpkin cupcakes made with pumpkin purée topped with a flavorful maple cream cheese frosting. This recipe for pumpkin cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting is hands-down the best I've ever had. I look forward to pumpkin season just so that I can make these amazing treats!
I'm excited to share this favorite autumn dessert with all of you with a few of my own substitutes. The original came from Smitten Kitchen which is the bomb, but I made some healthy substitutions and I promise you won't know the difference. 😉
How To Make Moist Pumpkin Cupcakes
Ingredients You'll Need:
- 1 stick butter (I use the butter olive oil blend sticks)
- 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (can sub coconut sugar)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups cake flour (I used 1 ¾ cups unbleached white wheat flour and ¼ cup cornstarch sifted together well)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup low-fat buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ¼ cups canned pumpkin
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a cupcake pan with 18 liners. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the mixer scraping down the sides after each addition. Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the pumpkin until smooth. Scoop the batter among the cupcake liners about ¾ full. Rap the filled pans once on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake the cakes until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Cool completely on a rack and make the frosting.
How To Make Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients You'll Need:
- 16 oz reduced-fat cream cheese
- 1 stick unsalted butter (I used the olive oil butter blend sticks)
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- ¼ cup real maple syrup
Directions:
In a stand mixer, beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy. You may need to add a bit more powdered sugar to achieve your favorite frosting consistency. Frost cooled cupcakes and enjoy!
How To Store Pumpkin Cupcakes
Refrigerate the cupcakes to set up the frosting and store in the refrigerator in a sealed container until ready to serve. The cupcakes will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze in a tightly sealed container for up to 1 month. Allow frozen cupcakes to come to room temperature before eating. It may be tempting to microwave thaw them, but the frosting and cupcake texture is best if they defrost at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.
More Favorite Pumpkin Recipes
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- For the cupcakes:
- 1 stick olive oil butter blend or 1 stick organic unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar can sub coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar or sub granulated maple sugar
- 2 cups cake flour to make this healthier use 1 ¾ cups unbleached white wheat flour and ¼ cup cornstarch-sift together well
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup low fat buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ¼ cups canned solid-pack pumpkin
- For the frosting:
- Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese(use ⅓ less fat), softened
- 1 stick unsalted organic butter or olive oil butter blend, room temperature
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Make the cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Line a cupcake pan with 18 liners.
- In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt into a medium bowl.
- Add the eggs 1 at a time to the mixer, scraping down the sides after each addition.
- Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour.
- Beat in the pumpkin until smooth.
- Scoop the batter among the cupcake liners — you’re looking to get them ¾ full.
- Rap the filled pans once on the counter to release any air bubbles.
- Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.
- Make the frosting:
- In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy.
- You may need to add a little more powdered sugar until you get a good frosting consistency. Frost cupcakes swirling decoratively.
- Refrigerate the cupcakes to set up frosting and store in the fridge in a covered container until ready to serve
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