When the month of October rolls in, it seems like pumpkin-spice everything floods every bakery, & coffee shop. Pumpkin Spice… EVERYWHERE you look! I can’t fight it, so I’m going to join them! You have to have a light touch with all of that cinnamon & nutmeg goodness, especially in desserts – that’s where my recipe for Real Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes joins the party!
This flavor profile has the potential to be a Fall-flavored delight for your senses, like in this stunning recipe for Pumpkin Spice Latte Macarons from my friend over at Posh Little Designs. The thing is, if it’s overdone, the taste can quickly turn into something overpoweringly sweet & cloying. In my kitchen, I like to combine a balanced blend of all of these aromatics with real pumpkin puree.
When you’re at the market, be sure to check the ingredients on canned pumpkin very, very carefully. You want to buy 100% Pureed Pumpkin for this delicious dessert, for Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes! There are some substitutes out there (I’m looking at you, squash-based imposters masquerading as “pumpkin”!).
This recipe and I go way back…
Years ago, as a college student in Pittsburgh, I discovered a ‘Penzeys Spice Shop’ tucked away in the Squirrel Hill area of town. It stood out like a gem among the small restaurants and boutiques. It took me only one visit and I was completely hooked!
Picture a whole store dedicated to spice: aisles overflowing with whole and ground spices from all across the globe. It was a magical experience! The exotic scents, vibrant colors, and sheer variety blew me away! This little visit was a turning point for me & my views on cooking.
Fast forward to over a decade, and my spice rack is still filled with Penzeys treasures!
The very first recipe I attempted after discovering that spice shop was this delicious cinnamon-scented pumpkin cake with hints of clove, ginger, and nutmeg. Moist, dense, and richly flavored with pumpkin, it is still a favorite after all of these years. I particularly like to make this recipe in cupcake form, topped with my own creamy and not too sweet, vanilla cream cheese frosting.
These tasty cakes are the perfect Halloween Party treat for the kids! My boys and I always decorate them with spooky candies & brightly colored sprinkles! Are you looking for more Fall Inspired Desserts? Check out my Baking Recipes Index!
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
original pumpkin bread recipe from Penzey’s Spices
makes 24 cupcakes
For the Cupcakes
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
15 ounces of pumpkin puree, homemade or store bought (look for ‘pure’ pumpkin puree)
Preheat your oven to 350F and line 2 standard sized muffin pans with your favorite liners. Reserve. In a large bowl, combine the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk gently to combine. Place aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin puree on low to medium speed for about three minutes. Slowly beat in the dry mix into the wet mix in several increments, until blended.
Using an ice cream scoop or cupcake scoop, fill the muffin liners to about 3/4 full.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until a tester toothpick comes out cleanly.
Allow the cupcakes to cool for 5 minutes in the pans on a wire cooling rack, then transfer out of the baking pan to the rack. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
For the Frosting
2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, slightly softened but still cool to the touch
1/2 cup of salted butter, slightly softened but still cool to the touch
1 1/2 teaspoons fine vanilla extract
1 tablespoon heavy cream (or half & half in a pinch)
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and tablespoon of cream until well blended. About 3-4 minutes.
Next, slowly add the powdered sugar in four increments, blending completely before the next batch.
You want a slightly “stiff” frosting, but not dry. If the frosting is too dry, add a splash of cream. If too “loose”, add another 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.
Once blended to the appropriate texture, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 15-20 minutes. This will help with the piping. Prepare your piping bag and choose a favorite tip. Gather up any candy decorations you would like to use (we did a combination of chocolate sunflower seeds, sprinkles, and Halloween candy).
Once chilled, fill the piping bag and decorate. I like mine with just the frosting, but anything goes!
Keep the cupcakes chilled until about 15 minutes before serving.
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 15 ounces of pumpkin puree homemade or store bought (look for 'pure' pumpkin puree)
For the Frosting
- 2 8 ounce packages of cream cheese sliightly softened but, still cool to the touch
- 1/2 cup of salted butter slightly softened but, still cool to the touch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream or half & half in a pinch
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted
Instructions
For the Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 350F and line 2 standard sized muffin pans with your favorite liners. Reserve.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk gently to combine. Place aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin puree on low to medium speed for about three minutes. Slowly beat in the dry mix into the wet mix in several increments, until blended.
- Using an ice cream scoop or cupcake scoop, fill the muffin liners to about 3/4 full.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until a tester toothpick comes out cleanly.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool for 5 minutes in the pans on a wire cooling rack, then transfer out of the baking pan to the rack. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
For the Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and tablespoon of cream until well blended. About 3-4 minutes.
- Next, slowly add the powdered sugar in four increments, blending completely before the next batch.
- You want a slightly “stiff” frosting, but not dry. If the frosting is too dry, add a splash of cream. If too “loose”, add another 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.
- Once blended to the appropriate texture, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 15-20 minutes. This will help with the piping.
- Prepare your piping bag and choose a favorite tip. Gather up any candy decorations you would like to use (we did a combination of chocolate sunflower seeds, sprinkles, and Halloween candy).
- Once chilled, fill the piping bag and decorate. I like mine with just the frosting, but anything goes!
- Keep the cupcakes chilled until about 15 minutes before serving.
Originally published in 10/2014, last updated 10/2020
Love your festive cupcakes! You can never go wrong with pumpkin and cream cheese icing 🙂
The fake teeth are perfect decorations for Halloween cupcakes. My 7- and 10-year-old boys would love them. The grown-ups wouldn't turn down pumpkin spice and cream cheese either.
Thanks! These cupcakes are the real deal and I am such a sucker for cream cheese frosting… I may or may not have had a spoonful or two, straight up 🙂
It was a lot of fun decorating with my four and under crew! We found the candies on Amazon and they were a total hit!
Oh my gosh…… PENZEYS! Brings me back to college. I had a friend who worked there and she would take us after hours sometimes and let us dig through the 'employee box,' which were spices that customers had opened. We had, like, over 20 different exotic spices. I miss those…
Wow! What a good buddy to have! Pi love going through Penzeys catalog, but I always end up with too much! Thanks for commenting!