Description
Moist, spiced pumpkin cupcakes topped with adorable buttercream pumpkins and green vines — the perfect festive treat for fall parties, Halloween gatherings, or Thanksgiving tables.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
- ½ cup milk
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (for frosting)
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2–3 tbsp milk (for frosting)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Orange and green gel food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
- In another bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and pumpkin purée.
- Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, mixing until just combined.
- Divide batter into liners, filling about two-thirds full. Bake 18–20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
- For frosting, beat butter until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, then milk and vanilla until smooth.
- Divide frosting: tint most orange for pumpkins, some green for vines.
- Pipe orange mounds for pumpkins using a round tip. Switch to a leaf/vine tip to pipe green vines around pumpkins.
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.
Notes
Buttercream holds its shape best for the pumpkin design. For gluten-free cupcakes, use a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend. Chill piping bags briefly if frosting becomes too soft.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 32g
- Sodium: 210mg
- Fat: 16g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 42g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 65mg