Pumpkin Cupcakes

Moist pumpkin spiced cupcakes full of Autumn flavour, with a cinnamon buttercream and fondant pumpkins on top.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Cupcake

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Total Time 50

Servings

Calories 455kcal

Author thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

For the sponge

175 g Light brown soft sugar
100 ml Vegetable oil
2 Eggs large
200 g Pumpkin puree
200 g Self raising flour
½ tsp Baking powder
A pinch of Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp Mixed spice
¼ tsp Ground ginger
¼ tsp Nutmeg

For the buttercream

200 g Butter softened, unsalted
400 g Icing sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 tbsp Milk

To decorate

Fondant pumpkins or sprinkles optional

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and line a cupcake tin with 12 paper cases
In a large bowl whisk together the light brown soft sugar, eggs and vegetable oil
Add the pumpkin puree and whisk in
In another bowl stir together the self raising flour, baking powder, salt and all of the spices - cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and mixed spice
Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and whisk them together
Divide the mixture between the cupcakes cases, and bake them for 20-25 minutes until they are golden brown and a thin skewer or cocktail stick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Put them on a cooling rack to cool completely
To make the buttercream, mix together the butter, cinnamon, vanilla extract, milk and icing sugar with an electric whisk until smooth. If the buttercream is too stiff then you can add some more milk to it
Pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake using a piping bag fitted with a nozzle (I used Wilton 2D). Or spread it on with a spoon
Add fondant pumpkins or sprinkles if desired, then serve! Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for 3 days

Video

Notes

If you can't get hold of pumpkin puree you could also use grated raw pumpkin, or butternut squash would work too. You can also roast or steam the pumpkin, then puree it and let it cool completely before adding to the mix.

If you fancy using cream cheese frosting instead of the cinnamon buttercream, check out my Carrot Cake Cupcakes for a beautifully thick UK recipe for cream cheese frosting that pipes like a dream! If you do decorate the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, they will need to be stored in the fridge.

Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking the cupcakes.
I used unsalted butter for the cinnamon buttercream.
If you live in a place where pumpkin pie spice mix is easily available, then you can use 2 tsp of that instead of the mix of spices I've listed in the recipe. I live in the UK so pumpkin spice mix is not something that's sold here.
Mixed spice is a British spice blend containing Cinnamon, Coriander Seed, Nutmeg, Clove, Pimento, Ginger.
I really recommend using light brown soft sugar if you can for the cupcakes, but if you can't get hold of it, caster sugar will work well too.
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

Nutrition