My pumpkin spice cupcakes are chock full of real pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves and nutmeg! I cored and filled with a home made vanilla pudding, then topped with buttercream; both regular and pumpkin-shaped!
I have a soft spot for pumpkin everything but as you might know, I hate fondant. Yes I use it but only on the rarest of occasions. It just doesn’t taste great. So I was determined to pipe some pumpkins for these cupcakes and not shape them out of rock-hard sugar paste you have to pick off before eating.
How many cups are in a can of pumpkin?
A 15oz can of pumpkin is 2.5 tablespoons short of 2 cups. If you buy the 29-ounce can of pumpkin, it holds about 3 1/2 cups cups of purée.
A Few Tips
- After applying the white buttercream you can smooth it with a knife or spatula. If it’s a bit troublesome try dipping your tool in very hot water, patting it try then swiping that over your cupcake.
- On another note you might want to make these cupcakes with a more simple decoration and in that case may I suggest whipping up a batch of the browned buttercream from my pumpkin poke cake?
- Don’t be afraid to clean up the pumpkin with a toothpick if there are stray bits of buttercream marring your gourd.
- If you don’t have a cupcake corer you can use a small knife to hollow out the middle.
- The recipe makes more vanilla pudding than you need. But you will not be complaining about having some extra delicious home made pudding to snack on! I tried some different brands of pudding mixes and even the fancy organic ones weren’t nearly as good as the home-made kind. I think it’s the vanilla they use.
Steps to make pumpkin cupcakes
How do you make easy pumpkin cupcakes?
- For the cupcakes; preheat the oven to 350 degrees and add the cupcake papers to a cupcake pan. Mix the buttermilk, vanilla, orange blossom and sour cream in a glass and set it aside. Now sift the dry ingredients (except the sugar) together and give it a good whisk to mix it up.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment for approximately 4 minutes on medium. Add the eggs one at a time to make sure each one is incorporated well before adding the next. Add the flour mixture in three batches alternating with the milk mixture. Make sure you start and end with the flour mixture. Be careful not to over mix, just beat until combined.
- Mix in the pumpkin puree and scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure the pumpkin is well incorporated.
- Now pour the batter into the cupcake papers. Bake at 350 degrees for about 18-20 minutes or until the center is set and let cool.
- For the frosting; whip the butter for about 5 minutes using a paddle attachment (stand-up mixer). Beat in the confectioners sugar slowly. Add the salt, cream and vanilla and beat until you have an even, fluffy consistency. Reserve a couple tablespoons for the stems. Add a few drops of brown and mix. Reserve ⅓ for the pumpkin. Add some drops of orange until you reach a desired consistency.
- For the filling; whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan. Add the milk into the sugar mixture and stir until a paste is formed.
- Add milk and the egg yolks. Cook the mixture on a low heat and add butter and vanilla. Stir while cooking until thickened then transfer to a bowl to cool completely. You can whisk in an optional 1-2 tbs of butter at this point.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and create an airtight seal with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for about an hour until chilled.
- For the assembly; with a cupcake corer or the reverse side of a piping tip, core a hole.
- Pipe the filling into the cupcake.
- To pipe the white base, fit a piping bag with a number 3 round tip and use to create a white circular base for your pumpkin by piping in a circular motion.
- Fit another piping bag with a 143 tip and fill it with the orange frosting to pipe your pumpkin. You might need to use a small knife to clean the edges to shave the pumpkin. Pipe the brown stem using a small round tip and there you have your pumpkin cupcake! Enjoy!
If you’ve tried these cupcakes then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Pumpkin Cupcakes
Delicious pumpkin cupcakes filled with homemade vanilla pudding and topped with buttercream pumpkins!
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree 170g
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon 5.2g
- 1 tsp ginger 2g
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg .50g
- 1/4 tsp cloves .50g
- 1/4 tsp all-spice .50g
- 1/4 tsp salt 1.2g
- 1 tsp baking soda 6g
- 4 tsp baking powder 16g
- 2 cups all purpose flour 256g
- 1 1/3 cups brown sugar 267g
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup buttermilk 118mL
- 1/2 cup butter 113g
- 1/4 cup sour cream 57g
- 1 teaspoon orange blossom water 5mL
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5mL
For the Buttercream:
- 2 tsp vanilla 10mL
- 1 lb confectioner's sugar 453.5g
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature 226g
- 3 tbs heavy whipping cream 44.3mL
- 1 pinch salt
- Orange food coloring
- Brown food coloring
For the Filling:
- 1/4 cup sugar 50g
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch 11g
- 1/8 teaspoon salt .6g
- 1 cup whole milk warm, 250mL
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5mL
- 2 tbsp butter 30g
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add cupcake papers to a cupcake tin.
- Mix the buttermilk, vanilla, orange blossom and sour cream in a glass and set aside.
- Sift the dry ingredients (except the sugar) together and give a good whisk to mix well.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for approximately 4 minutes on medium.
- Add the eggs one at a time making sure each is incorporated well before adding the next.
- Add the flour mixture mixture in three batches alternating with the milk mixture. Making sure you start and end with the flour mixture. Do not over mix, just beat until combined.
- Mix in the pumpkin puree. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and make sure the pumpkin is well incorporated.
- Pour batter into cupcakes papers. Bake at 350 degrees for about 18-20 minutes, or until the center is set.
- Let cool.
For the Buttercream:
- Whip the butter for about 5 minutes using a paddle attachment (stand-up mixer).
- Beat in the confectioner’s sugar slowly.
Add the salt, cream, and vanilla. Beat until you have an even, fluffy consistency.
- Reserve a couple tablespoons for the stems. Add a few drops of brown and mix. Reserve ⅓ for the pumpkin. Add drops of orange until you reach a desired consistency.
For the Filling:
Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan.
Add milk into the sugar mixture. Stir until a paste. Combine milk and egg yolks.
Cook the mixture on a low heat, while stirring continuously. Let the mixture thicken and don't over boil. Turn off the heat. Add butter and vanilla.
Transfer mixture to a bowl. Create an airtight seal with plastic wrap. Move to the refrigerator for about an hour until chilled.
For the Assembly:
With a cupcake corer or the reverse side of a piping tip, core a whole.
Pipe filling into the cupcake.
- To pipe the white base, fit a piping bag with a number 3 round tip. Pipe in a circular motion.
- Fit another piping bag with a 143 tip. Pipe
- Use a cake icing tip to create a white circular base of your pumpkin. Pipe another closed circle on top for the pumpkin itself. Pipe the pumpkin using a 143 tip with the bag filled with orange. You might need to use a small knife to clean the edges to shave the pumpkin. Pipe the brow stem using a small round tip.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- After applying the white buttercream you can smooth it with a knife or spatula. If it's a bit troublesome try dipping your tool in very hot water, patting it try then swiping that over your cupcake.
- On another note you might want to make these cupcakes with a more simple decoration and in that case may I suggest whipping up a batch of the browned buttercream from my pumpkin poke cake?
- Don't be afraid to Clean up the pumpkin with a toothpick if there are stray bits of buttercream marring your gourd.
IF YOU LIKED THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT
Brown Butter Pumpkin Sheet Cake
Adorable!
Can I use orange extract to substitute orange blossom water?
Hey Megan,
You could. I like orange blossom water because it is a very subtile flavor since its distilled from actual orange blossoms. Orange extract will be a much stronger orange taste. If you’re wanting more of an orange taste, then it’s perfect!
Happy baking!
John
I made this recipe as soon as you posted the tutorial. They are,by far, the most AMAZING pumpkin spice cupcakes I have EVER had!!! Absolutely out of this world!!! 💞
I made this recipe as soon as the tutorial was posted. Let me just say, they are THE BEST pumpkin spice cupcakes EVER!!!! My favorite recipe hands down!!! 💞
Hey Tamara,
That is very sweet, I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much!!! Did you pipe pumpkins on top too?
Best,
John
🤣🤣 I didn’t!! I just wanted to eat them… I will next time I make them for sure! 😊
I haven’t made this yet, but can i sub whole milk for 2%?
definitely!
Hi, I had made the recipe, but the quantities in gr. are wrong, example: the cloves, say 50gr. and actually I think has to be 4gr. to fill 1/4 tsp. the same is with nutmeg and all spices. I did it with 1/4 tsp of each, anyway after bale it the cupcakes were very soft, pasted in the muffin pan.
The filling, was delicious but in the directions says add vanilla extracto and butter (wich one?) the filling ingredients dont mention it
I really want to prepare this recipe, but I am sad due to it was not as I thought, please sentí me the tips or what can I change or it
Hi Rosaura,
When I measure out 1 tsp of the spices, I get 2g. Since the recipe calls for 1/4 is why I put .50g.
I have added the correct amount of butter into the filling recipe.
Did the cupcakes bake all the way through?
Best,
John
Hey, Can I use a whole can of pumpkin instead of 3/4 cups?
Hey, Can I use a whole can of pumpkin instead of 3/4 cups?
That might be bit much for the recipe. You could definitely add in a few more tablespoons if desired though.