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.
This site contains affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means that I may make a small commission if you purchase a product using those links. This in no way affects my opinion of those products and services. All opinions expressed on this site are my own.
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.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
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.
You Might Also Like
Please check out my Amazon Shop for a curated collection of some of my favorite cake pans from trusted brands, baking tools, ingredients, pretty things and fashion finds. I recommend products that I buy and use every day!
Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude Pumpkin Cupcakes
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Muffin Pan
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 7 ½ ounces (1/2 small can, or @1 cup) canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- ¼ cup light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup buttermilk or whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ¾ tsp (scant) baking soda
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
Buttercream
- 4 oz (1/2 brick) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 4 oz (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder
- ⅛ 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
Instructions
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
Is that just 1 cup of flour+1TBSP?
TIA!
Correct.
I have baked other recipes from your site and they were very nice. The centers didn’t sink and the crumb was much better than anything I have achieved since moving to Colorado. But today I baked the Pumpkin Cupcakes. They were perfect. I missed my timer but I think I baked them about 28 minutes. The texture of the cake was as good as anything I have baked at sea level. I love cake but have had no luck baking cakes at this altitude. I can bake cookies, bread, pies but not cake. The flavor was spot on and the color was very appetizing. I am going to try your pumpkin charlotte next. The recipe is very close if not exact. I am looking forward to taking something different for dessert on Thanksgiving. Kudos on a fabulous recipe!
These did end up coming out a bit salty — does the brown butter have that effect? I’m pretty sure I measured everything ok and use unsalted butter. Any thoughts?
Browning butter doesn’t increase the saltiness. Do you use a fine grained salt or a coarse salt? I use Kroger brand coarse Kosher salt, so if you use a finer table salt, you’d need to use about half the amount. The saltiness of coarse and fine salt can even vary between brands.
My family and friends are in love with all the things I have baked from your site. It’s my go to site first for anything I want to bake. Everything turns out perfect and your instructions are so clear! Made these delicious cupcakes for a dinner party and everyone loved them. I’m in W. Morrison at 7500′
That’s such a nice compliment, thank you 🙂
I made these for a birthday party this weekend- doubled the recipe for 24 cupcakes, and they turned out perfect! I love the touch of merengue powder in the icing. It helps it hold up so well for piping. So many compliments- everyone was asking if I got them from the fancy bakery down the street! Will definitely make again.
Made these for a baby shower recently and they were such a big hit that I didn’t even have a chance to try one haha. Everyone loved them! Can’t wait to make them again in autumn!