These super moist pumpkin cupcakes are packed with pumpkin spices and pure pumpkin purée, and topped with chocolate cream cheese frosting that has LESS SUGAR! light, fluffy and full of pumpkin flavour! The perfect treat to cosy yourself this autumn!

WHY YOU NEED TO TRY THESE CUPCAKES!

1. They’re packed with all warm autumn/fall spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, allspice and cloves.
2. They’re super soft and moist cupcakes due to pumpkin puree.
3. They’re topped with the best and most stable chocolate cream cheese frosting with very less amount of sugar than usual.

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INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED!

Here are the key ingredients required to make these delicious cupcakes. Scroll down to the recipe card for a complete list of ingredients with their exact quantities.

FOR THE CUPCAKES

• Plain Flour/all-purpose flour: Make sure to measure it correctly. The best way to measure all-purpose flour is by using a digital scale. If you don’t have then spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level the flour.  
• Unsalted butter: Softened to room temperature. Unsalted butter is better as you can control the amount of salt in the recipe.
• Eggs: They should be at room temperature.
• Pumpkin puree: The star ingredient! Adds moisture and makes these cupcakes rich and moist. I used here homemade pumpkin purée. No need to remove the water from the homemade puree. it’s very easy to make and you can make it ahead of time. I have a complete blog post on how to make homemade pumpkin puree here. If you don’t want to make it at home, go for canned pumpkin puree but don’t use canned pumpkin pie filling, just the canned pumpkin puree (100%). For canned pumpkin purée, don’t forget to drain excess water from it because canned purée mostly has lots of added water in it that can affect the texture of the desserts. To remove the extra water, use a cheesecloth. Fold it first then scoop the puree into the cheesecloth, wrap it around the puree and wring out the excess water over the kitchen sink, then measure it for the recipe.
• Baking powder & baking soda: These are used to make the cupcakes rise.
• Granulated sugar: In this recipe, I used granulated sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness and gives texture to these cupcakes.
• Buttermilk: It makes cupcakes soft and fluffy.  I used store-bought buttermilk. If you can’t find it then you can make your own buttermilk. Take 1/4 cup milk (at room temperature) and add 1 tsp lemon juice, set aside for 10 minutes before adding to the batter.
• Pumpkin spice mix: I used homemade pumpkin spice mix (see FAQ on how to make the spice mix). You can substitute it with store-bought.
• Ground Cinnamon: It is added for extra flavour. Cinnamon and pumpkin puree go very well with each other. You can play with spices and skip the pumpkin spices and add cinnamon powder only.

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FOR THE CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING    

• Cream cheese: It should be COLD. Always use full-fat cream cheese as it gives the frosting a creamy consistency. I used the Philadelphia original here.
• Unsalted butter: Softened to room temperature.
• Icing sugar/powdered sugar (sifted): This sugar is great for frosting. It is light and fine, blends into the cream cheese easily and makes the frosting fluffy.
• Cocoa powder: For chocolatey goodness. Make sure, to sift it before use to avoid lumpy frosting.
• Vanilla extract: For flavour 

EQUIPMENT REQUIRED

• 12 hole Cupcake tin
• 12 Cupcake liner
• Electric mixer

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HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN CUPCAKES!

Step 1: Sift plain flour/all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, ground cinnamon, pumpkin spice mix and baking powder into a large bowl. Whisk together and set aside.

Step 2: Cream together the softened butter and sugar on medium speed for at least 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla extract and eggs (one at a time), and beat after each addition. Make sure to scrape the bowl so the butter gets well mixed in.

Step 3: Add in pumpkin puree and beat again until combined.

Step 4: Add in dry ingredients and buttermilk. Alternate these 2 ingredients, starting with dry ingredients and ending with dry ingredients, and beat on low after each addition until it is combined (avoid over-mixing).

Step 5: Take a 12-hole cupcake tin and line it with cupcake liners. Divide the batter into 12 cupcake liners using a spoon or ice cream scoop. Each liner should be 2/3 full with the filling. Bake in the preheated fan oven at 155C/311F (For a conventional oven, 175C/347F) for 19-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave on a wire rack to cool completely.

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TIPS TO MAKE THE PERFECT PUMPKIN CUPCAKES

1. All ingredients should be at room temperature.
2. You don’t need to strain the purée if you are using homemade pumpkin puree because we get it with drier consistency using the roasting method. Don’t forget to strain the extra water from the puree if you are using store-bought pumpkin puree as mostly canned purée has lots of added water in it that can affect the texture of the cupcakes.
3. Don’t over-mix the batter. Once the dry ingredients are just combined with the wet ingredients, stop mixing too much otherwise it results in a dense cake.

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HOW TO MAKE THE CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING WITH LESS SUGAR

Baking is a science. To make cakes, muffins, dough or frosting, we have to be careful about the exact amount of ingredients. The other important thing is that the ingredients have to be added in a specific order to achieve the perfect and best result. The same rule applies to cream cheese frosting. Most recipes use a ton of icing sugar to stabilise the cream cheese frosting but I always wanted to create a recipe that requires less sugar but has a stable consistency. 

After many trials, I found that if we CHANGE THE MIXING ORDER of the ingredients and use COLD cream cheese, we can get the perfect consistency of cream cheese frosting with less amount of sugar.

Here's how you can make the chocolate cream cheese frosting,

• Cream the softened butter on medium speed (with a hand mixer or stand mixer) until smooth and light in colour (about 2-3 minutes).
• Add in the vanilla extract and 1 cup of icing sugar/powdered sugar (sifted). Mix with a spatula then beat on low speed until well combined, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
• Take out the COLD cream cheese straight from the fridge, shift to a small bowl, give it a good mix using a spoon or a hand mixer then add in the above butter mixture. Beat it until combined and fluffy. 
• Then add the remaining icing sugar/powdered sugar and beat until fluffy and well combined. 
• Now add the sifted cocoa powder and beat until combined. Be careful, not to overbeat the frosting as it becomes runny. Use it right away.

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PRO TIPS TO GET THE BEST STABLE FROSTING WITH LESS AMOUNT OF SUGAR!

1. Use softened butter and COLD cream cheese, straight out of the fridge.
2. Just change the mixing order of the ingredients to get the stable frosting but with less amount of sugar. Now You don’t need to add tons of icing sugar to make it stable.

ASSEMBLY

Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, fill the piping bag with chocolate cream cheese frosting, fitted with any nozzle of your choice. I used here 1 M piping nozzle. Make swirls of frosting onto the cupcakes. 

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FAQ

How To Make Homemade Pumpkin Spice Mix?

You'll need 4 tbsp ground Cinnamon, 2 tsp ground ginger, 2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom, 1 tsp ground cloves, and 1 tsp ground allspice. Whisk together all of the above ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Store in a small jar or airtight container. It stays fresh for up to a year.

How To Store These CupCakes?

Store any leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. You can store any leftover frosting in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days. Before use, give it a short whip so it will be fluffy again.

I hope that you'll try this recipe and you'll love them as much as my family and I do! If you make this recipe then be sure to tag @kaotickrunch on Instagram. We'd love to see your creations!

Happy baking and eating! 😊