Description
Pumpkin dream cupcakes with espresso cream cheese frosting arranged on a wooden board with fall decorations.
Ingredients
Scale
the Pumpkin Cupcakes (Makes About 24):
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- 2 cups all-purpose flour
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- 2 teaspoons baking soda
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- 1¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
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- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or ground nutmeg)
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- ½ teaspoon salt
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- 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin purée
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- 1¾ cups light brown sugar, packed
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- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
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- ½ cup vegetable oil
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- 4 large eggs, room temperature
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- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
☕ For the Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting:
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- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
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- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
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- 2½ cups powdered sugar
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- 1–2 tablespoons instant espresso powder (adjust to taste)
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- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Substitutions: No Greek yogurt? Sour cream works fine. Don’t have instant espresso? I’ve used really strong coffee – just use less and add more powdered sugar if needed.
Instructions
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- Heat your oven to 350°F and line your muffin tins. I always forget this step and then I’m scrambling later.
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- Mix dry ingredients: Flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt in a bowl. Whisk it up and set aside.
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- Wet stuff: In your big bowl, whisk pumpkin, brown sugar, Greek yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix it good – maybe 2 minutes.
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- Put it together: Add dry ingredients to wet. Stir just until you can’t see flour anymore. Don’t beat the heck out of it.
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- Fill and bake: Use an ice cream scoop to fill cupcake liners about ¾ full. Bake 28-32 minutes – toothpick should come out clean. Let them cool completely.
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- Make frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, espresso powder, vanilla. Beat until smooth. Taste and add more espresso if you want.
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- Frost them: Wait until cupcakes are totally cool. Pipe or spread frosting however you like.
Notes
- Get your eggs and cream cheese out early – room temp stuff mixes way better
- Ice cream scoop for filling = perfectly even cupcakes every time
- Don’t peek in the oven for the first 25 minutes or they might sink
- Taste your frosting – I like mine pretty coffee-forward but you might not
- Overmixing makes tough cupcakes, so stir just until combined
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 285 per cupcake
- Sugar: 28g
- Sodium: 195mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 32g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 45mg