Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting
These Pumpkin Cupcakes are one of our favorite fall bakes! They’re filled with warm spices and plenty of pumpkin, then topped with a rich, caramelly browned butter cream cheese frosting. We even recommend making them a day in advance, as they become even more moist, fluffy, and flavorful after resting for a day or two. We hope you have as much fun making these as we do!
Ingredients
- 180 g (1½ cups) cake flour
- 5 g (1 tsp) baking soda
- 3 g (½ tsp) baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¾ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg (freshly ground preferred)
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ⅛ tsp ground turmeric
- 150 g (¾ cup) granulated sugar
- 100 g (½ cup) light brown sugar, packed
- 120 ml (½ cup) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
-
240 g (1 cup) canned pumpkin puree (Libby’s preferred)
- 60 ml (¼ cup) whole milk, room temperature
- 142 g (1¼ sticks / 10 Tbsp) salted butter (will reduce to about 113 g after browning)
- 225 g (8 oz) cream cheese, softened to room temperature (68–72°F)
- 200 g (1⅔ cups) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- ⅛ tsp salt
Pumpkin Cupcakes
Brown Butter Frosting
Instructions
Browned Butter
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook until it turns golden brown and smells nutty, about 6-9 minutes. Brown milk solids will form at the bottom of the pan.
Immediately pour the browned butter with the milk solids into a heat-proof measuring glass. You should have about 113-118 g (just around the ½ cup line).
Let the butter cool to room temp (around 74-78°F) before using, ensuring it stays liquid.
Pumpkin Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line muffin pans with 14-15 cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil until well combined, about 1 minute.
Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition.
Whisk in the vanilla extract, pumpkin puree, and milk briefly until smooth.
Gently fold or whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix.
Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners, filling each about ¾ full.
Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting
Using a handheld or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the softened cream cheese and cooled browned butter together on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. (It may look curdled initially, but it will smooth out.)
Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, spices, and salt. Beat until light and fluffy, about 2 more minutes.
Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, pipe or spread the frosting evenly over each cupcake. (We use a 1M open star piping tip.)
Did you make this? We’d love to hear how it turned out! Leave a review
Notes
- Yield: Makes 14-15 cupcakes.
- Storage:Store frosted cupcakes at room temperature for up to 4 hours or refrigerate for up to 1 week. Store unfrosted cupcakes at room temperature for up to 4 days or refrigerate for up to a week. You can also freeze unfrosted cupcakes for up to 3 months.
- Mixer: You can also use a hand or stand mixer in place of a whisk for the batter, just be careful not to overmix or the cupcakes will turn out dense.
- Pumpkin Puree: Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, which has added sugar and spices. We recommend Libby’s since it tends to have less liquid, which can make the cupcakes dense.
- Spices: You can substitute the listed spices with 1 Tbsp of pumpkin pie spice + 1 tsp of cinnamon, but using the individual spices ensures a more complex flavor and bonus points at your game night party.
Happy baking! ❤️
Emma & Eric
@birchberryco Pumpkin Cupcakes w/ Brown Butter Frosting 🧡🍃🍁 These pumpkin cupcakes are topped with a brown butter cream cheese frosting that’s the best combo ever. One of our favorite pumpkin baking recipes, perfect for a Fall dessert recipe to welcome October! For the full recipe click Recipes on our site Birchberryco.com (link in bio!) Let us know how it goes!! 🧡 #pumpkincupcakes #pumpkin #pumpkinseason #pumpkinspice #cupcakes #creamcheesefrosting #brownbutter #fallbaking #baking #bakingrecipe #bakingtherapy #baketok #aesthetic #cottagecore ♬ my tears ricochet bridge - afterglow audios