Small Batch Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
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It’s Pumpkin Spice Season!!!
Are you a fan of pumpkin spice? Im generally not that into it. I could take or leave all the pumpkin spice lattes. These cupcakes, though? They’re a different story. I am into these cupcakes!
The cake part of these cupcakes is super moist and a very pleasing orangey colour from the pumpkin. It is lightly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s also super easy to make and doesn’t even require a mixer!
And the frosting? It’s THE BEST! I originally invented this frosting to top carrot cake cupcakes (which are also amazing - I will share them with you someday!), but it also pairs so so perfectly with these pumpkin spice cupcakes.
Together the pumpkin spice cake and the brown butter cream cheese frosting give the most perfect warm cozy fall vibes. Honestly, these cupcakes would probably pair perfectly with a pumpkin spice latte. Hmm…now I’m kind of craving a PSL, how about you?
I’ve done this recipe as a small batch - it makes only 6 cupcakes, because sometimes you just want a little treat for yourself or a few people. Don’t worry if you want more though, this recipe will easily double, triple, etc., so make as many as you’d like!
What ingredients do I need?
Here’s your grocery list:
-Salted Butter (or just get unsalted & add an extra pinch of salt to your cupcake batter)
-Unsalted Butter
-Canned Pumpkin
-Cream Cheese (the kind in a block, not a tub)
-Canola Oil (or another neutral flavoured light oil)
-Sugar
-Brown Sugar (I like dark brown sugar)
-Eggs
-All Purpose Flour
-Baking Powder
-Cinnamon
-Nutmeg
-Sea Salt
You will also need a kitchen scale or measuring cups & spoons (but I highly recommend the scale!) , a stand or handheld mixer for the frosting, a few bowls, a spatula, a whisk, a muffin/cupcake tin, cupcake liners, and a #16 cookie scoop if you want to make dividing up your cupcakes super fast and easy.
Here's a little video of the process!
How to make pumpkin spice cupcakes with brown butter cream cheese frosting.
Here’s how to make them:
You can find the full recipe below but I’ll go over the steps in a little extra detail here.
First, gather all of your tools & ingredients, and put 6 cupcake liners in your muffin/cupcake tin. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
First, make your cupcake batter:
Whisk together your flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a small bowl.
In another slightly bigger bowl, vigorously whisk together your pumpkin, canola oil, melted salted butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until fully combined.
Dump your flour mixture into your wet ingredients and mix gently with a spatula until the batter is smooth. You may need to mix a bit vigorously to get rid of all the lumps but make sure you don’t overmix. Mix only until your batter is smooth.
Use a #16 scoop if you have one to scoop your batter into the cupcake liners. You should get exactly 6 cupcakes. Your liners will be quite full. Alternatively, you can use a spoon to divide the batter among the 6 liners.
Put your cupcakes in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, until they spring back when gently poked, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. I like to turn my cupcake tin around halfway through baking to get a perfectly even bake, but depending on your oven, you might not need to do this.
Once they are baked, place the cupcake tin on a wire rack and let them cool completely.
To make the frosting:
First, you need to brown your butter. Don’t be intimidated if you’ve never done this before, it’s pretty easy! Just make sure to watch closely so it doesn’t burn. Also, if you’re considering skipping this step, don’t! Brown butter is sooooooooo good! It gives a bit of a nutty vibe which pairs really really well with the spices in the pumpkin cake.
Place your unsalted butter in a medium pot on your stove on low heat.
Once the butter is melted, turn the heat up to medium-high. The butter will eventually start to foam up and this is where you’ll start seeing a light brown colour. Make sure to stir with your spatula at this point to get an even browning. Once the foam subsides a little, your butter should be done. You want it to have a light brown, toffee-like colour. Pour the butter into a metal or glass bowl, scraping out the pot to get every last bit, and place in the fridge to cool.
Make sure to stir your butter periodically as it cools. You want the butter to re-solidify but still be soft, just not liquid. Once it reaches this stage, add your cream cheese (softened or room temperature) and vanilla and whip it with a hand mixer on high speed until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Add your icing sugar and whip with the hand mixer again until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Don’t whip for too long, or the frosting will become loose and it will be hard to pipe onto your cupcakes. You can also use a stand mixer for this step, but in my experience, the hand mixer works best. If you use a stand mixer, the paddle attachment rather that the whisk attachment works best for a smooth cream cheese frosting.
Once your cupcakes are cooled, grab a large piping bag with a large star tip (I used an Ateco 886, but an large open star piping tip will work). Fill your piping bag with the cream cheese frosting and pipe swirls of frosting onto your cupcakes. You may have a bit leftover depending on how much frosting you like on your cupcakes! Alternatively, you can spread the frosting on with a spoon, icing spatula, or butter knife if you don't have a piping bag and tip. I added a sprinkle of cinnamon a some edible glitter from Sweetapolita for decoration on my cupcakes, but that’s optional.
Store cupcakes in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Bring cupcakes up to room temperature before eating for best flavour and texture.
Here's the recipe!
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 65g (1/2 cup) All Purpose Flour
- 2/3 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/3 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 pinch Ground Nutmeg
- 112g (1/3 cup) Canned Pumpkin Puree
- 1 Egg
- 75g (1/3 cup) Granulated Sugar
- 82g (1/3 cup) Brown Sugar
- 30g (2 TBSP) Canola Oil (Or other neutral flavoured oil)
- 33g (2 TBSP) Salted Butter, Melted
- 5g (1 tsp) Vanilla Extract
- 85g (6 TBSP) Unsalted Butter
- 112g (1/2 cup) Cream Cheese (room temperature)
- 1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 125g (1 cup) Icing Sugar
Instructions
- Whisk together your flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a small bowl.
- In a bigger bowl, whisk together your pumpkin, canola oil, melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract until fully combined.
- Dump your flour mixture into your wet ingerdients and mix gently with a spatula until the batter is smooth.
- Use a #16 scoop if you have one to scoop your batter into the cupcake liners. You should get exactly 6 cupcakes. Your liners will be quite full. Alternatively, you can use a spoon to divide the batter among the 6 liners.
- Put your cupcakes in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, until they spring back when gently poked, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. I like to turn my cupcake tin around halfway through baking to get a perfectly even bake, but depending on your oven, you might not need to do this.
- Once they are baked, place the cupcake tin on a wire rack and let them cool completely.
- Place your unsalted butter in a medium pot on your stove on low heat.
- Once the butter is melted, turn the heat up to medium-high. The butter will eventually start to foam up. Stir your butter gently until it is evenly brown and the foam has subsided. You want it to have a light brown, toffee-like colour. Pour the butter into a metal or glass bowl, scraping out the pot to get every last bit, and place in the fridge to cool.
- Stir your butter periodically as it cools. Once it has cooled and re-solidified but is still soft, add your cream cheese and vanilla and whip it with a hand mixer on high speed until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Add your icing sugar and whip with the hand mixer again until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Don’t whip for too long, or the frosting will become loose and it will be hard to pipe onto your cupcakes. You can also use a stand mixer for this step, but in my experience, the hand mixer works best. If you use a stand mixer, the paddle attachment rather that the whisk attachment works best for a smooth cream cheese frosting.
- Once your cupcakes are cooled, take a large piping bag with a large star tip (I used an Ateco 886, but an large open star piping tip will work) and fill your piping bag with the cream cheese frosting. Pipe swirls of frosting onto your cupcakes. I added a sprinkle of cinnamon and some edible glitter for decoration on my cupcakes, but that’s optional. Alternatively, you can spread the frosting on with a spoon, icing spatula, or butter knife if you don't have a piping bag and tip.
- Store cupcakes in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Bring cupcakes up to room temperature before eating for best flavour and texture.
Notes
All of my recipes are in weights (unless the unit is too small to accurately measure with a scale) because it is more accurate to bake using weights. I highly recommend investing in a kitchen scale! If you don't have one, I have also included volume measurements.
