Name: High Altitude Pumpkin Cupcakes
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 38 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup unsalted butter; 7 1/2 ounces (1/2 small can, or @1 cup) canned pumpkin puree ((not pumpkin pie filling)); 1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar, (lightly packed); 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 1/4 cup buttermilk or whole milk; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 cups + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour, (fluffed, spooned and leveled); 3/4 tsp (scant) baking soda; 1/2 tsp coarse Kosher salt ((if using table salt, use half the amount)); 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp ground ginger; 1/4 tsp ground cloves; 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg; 4 oz (1/2 brick) cream cheese, (softened to room temperature); 4 oz (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, (softened to room temperature); 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar; 1 tbsp meringue powder; 1/8 tsp coarse Kosher salt ((if using table salt, use half the amount)); 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract; 1-2 tbsp milk or cream, (only if needed); cinnamon-sugar and freshly grated nutmeg, (for decorating)

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Today’s high altitude pumpkin cupcakes are so soft and moist, flavored with brown butter and cozy fall spices. I topped them with sweet cream cheese buttercream, decorated with a sprinkling of cinnamon-sugar and freshly grated nutmeg. They’re quick to make, easy to frost and decorate, and the rich, tangy cream cheese frosting perfectly complements the pumpkin spice cupcakes.

Looking for more pumpkin recipes? Don’t miss this pumpkin bourbon crumble pie, pumpkin ice cream, and pumpkin bundt cake with espresso icing.

Pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese buttercream sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

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Why You’ll Love These Cupcakes

Perfect Texture. The cupcakes are so soft, so moist, tender and fluffy, with a velvety crumb. With the cream cheese buttercream, they’re one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.

Brown Butter. I absolutely love using brown butter (or browned butter) in baking. It’s an ingredient I use quite often, and it makes everything so much more delicious!

Pumpkin Everything Season. It’s the time of year to bake all the yummy pumpkin things with cozy fall spices. These are perfect cupcakes for a cool fall day.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Brown Butter.

This recipe for pumpkin cupcakes begins with brown butter. Brown butter is a fantastic ingredient, and adds a wonderful, rich and nutty flavor to baked goods. It’s easy to make, just taking a couple minutes longer than it does to melt butter on the stove.

Pumpkin.

I love baking with pumpkin. It adds moisture and flavor, and pairs so beautifully with warm fall spices. Use plain canned pumpkin, and not pumpkin pie filling.

Sugar.

A combination of granulated sugar and dark brown sugar adds sweetness, moisture, and a subtle hint of molasses.

Ingredients for making pumpkin spice cupcakes.

Eggs.

The eggs add structure to the batter, as well as richness.

Buttermilk.

I love to use buttermilk in my cake recipes. It adds a subtle tang and a rich, creamy texture, adding to the tenderness of the cake crumb. Its acidity also helps the cupcakes rise, although whole milk works just fine, too.

Vanilla.

Flavor. Most cakes are better with a bit of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.

Flour.

All-purpose flour is best for this recipe.

Baking Soda.

Leavens the batter, reacting with the acidity in the buttermilk, helping the cupcakes rise.

Salt & Spices.

A little salt enhances all the flavors and balances the sugar. For spices, I like to use a combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. You can certainly substitute pumpkin pie spice if you have it on hand.

Instructions

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350, position a rack in the center of the oven, and line a standard sized muffin pan with 12 paper liners.

TIP: Pumpkin cupcakes are a little sticky, and you may want to lightly spray the paper liners with non-stick baking spray.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Continue to cook the butter, swirling the pan occasionally, for about 5-10 minutes, until the water has evaporated, and the butter is forming nutty, fragrant golden brown solids at the bottom of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and let the butter cool for 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla. Whisk in the browned butter.

Step 1 for making pumpkin cupcake batter.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk for about 30 seconds until smooth.

Step 3 for making pumpkin cupcake batter.

Step 4 for making pumpkin cupcake batter.

Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to portion the batter into the pans, filling them about 2/3 – 3/4 full.

Bake the cupcakes for about 18 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly touched, and a toothpick comes out clean.

Just baked pumpkin cupcakes in a muffin pan.

Set the pan on a wire cooling rack, and cool for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan, and set on the cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Unfrosted pumpkin cupcakes on a black cooling rack.

Cream Cheese Buttercream

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter for one minute.
With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, meringue powder, salt and vanilla. Increase speed to medium, and whip for 3-4 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally, until light and fluffy.

TIP: Only add the milk or cream if needed for desired consistency, but you don’t want to add much liquid to cream cheese buttercream, or it will become too soft to hold its shape when piped onto cupcakes. In warmer weather, you probably don’t need to add any milk.

Fit a piping bag with tip 1M, and fill with the buttercream. Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes, and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar and freshly grated nutmeg.

Pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and cinnamon sugar on top.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this recipe if I don’t live at high altitude?

You sure can, but you’ll probably need to make a few adjustments, such as decreasing the flour, and increasing the leavening. This article by King Arthur Baking has good guidelines on making specific adjustments for various altitudes.

Can I use pumpkin pie spice in this cake?

Yes, you can substitute pumpkin pie spice for the blend of spices. I would use 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice to replace the blend of spices in my ingredient list.

Can I use pumpkin pie filling?

No, pumpkin pie filling is not interchangeable with plain canned pumpkin puree. The pie filling contains other ingredients that would ruin the cake.

Should I refrigerate pumpkin cupcakes?

With the cream cheese buttercream, I recommend refrigerating the leftover cupcakes. Set them out several hours before serving, though, since cake is best eaten at room temperature.

Pumpkin cupcake with the wrapper pulled back.

Pumpkin pecan muffin with a bite taken. — Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

Slices of pumpkin chocolate chip bread. — Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

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