Pumpkin Cupcakes + Cream Cheese Frosting

Hi friends! Today I’m bringing you the first (of many) delicious cupcake recipes here on Cupcakes and the Cosmos. And I couldn’t be more excited to start sharing my love of baking with you!

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, I wanted to share a recipe that was reminiscent of my favorite flavors and scents of the season.  Naturally, pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting were the perfect choice! My all-time favorite dessert at Thanksgiving is my grandma’s homemade pumpkin pie. And while nothing quite beats her pumpkin pie anything my grandma makes, these pumpkin cupcakes are delicious in their own right. The recipe (at end of page) is fantastic and so easy to follow for even the beginning baker. The result is a super moist spiced cake with a buttery smooth frosting you will want to try and recreate time and time again. Trust me, you won’t regret making these. Enjoy!

Recipe

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp canned pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting Ingredients:

• 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whist together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger for 20 seconds. Set aside.
2. Mix together granulated sugar with brown sugar until no lumps remain. Add vegetable oil and blend mixture on medium speed until well combined. Mix in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in pumpkin and vanilla. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in flour mixture and mix until combined. Stop mixer and scrape down sides and bottom of bowl and fold batter to ensure it is well blended.
3. Divide batter among 12 paper lined muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full and add in a heaping 1/4 cup batter to each well. Bake in preheated oven 20-24 minutes until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes our clean.* Cool in muffin tin several minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
4. For the frosting, whip together the cream cheese and butter using an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and powdered sugar and whip until light and fluffy. It is recommended to chill the frosting for a bit, returning it to the mixer and stirring occasional, for  more stable consistency. Pipe or spread frosting over the cupcakes and then store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Bring to nearly room temperature before serving.

*I’m still figuring out how the altitude affects my baking. I’ve only been in Colorado for a few months now. For this batch, I only baked the cupcakes for 17 minutes, even though the recipe calls for 20-24 mintues. So make sure to watch the cupcakes closely starting around 15 minutes, and adjust the baking time accordingly.

Original recipe here.