Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

For all my pumpkin spice fans out there, this recipe is for you. Moist and fluffy pumpkin spice cupcakes with a luscious maple cream cheese frosting … these should be the official cupcake of Fall!

I’m absolutely in love with the warm notes of pumpkin pie spice in these cupcakes. And the cream cheese frosting is sweetened with maple syrup plus has notes of cinnamon, the perfect cool yet cozy topping for these cupcakes.

I’ll be sharing more of my favorite pumpkin desserts down below so be sure to check those out. In the meantime, may I suggest these tasty Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancakes for your next breakfast?! Fluffy pancakes infused with the warming spices of cinnamon and clove, these are Fall in pancake form!

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Ingredients

Eggs – Add structure to these cupcakes. I have not tested any vegan egg substitutes but please share below if you do!

Coconut Sugar – One of my favorite refined-sugar free sweeteners to use. Adds a caramel-esc flavor to baked goods.

Pumpkin Puree – Very important to use 100% pumpkin puree and *not* pumpkin pie filling. Big difference in texture and flavor!

Coconut Oil – Make sure to use refined coconut oil as it has a neutral flavor, aka it won’t make these pumpkin cupcakes taste like coconut!

Gluten Free Flour – This recipe requires a 1:1 Gluten Free Flour Mix for optimal texture. I love using Bob’s Red Mill for all my gluten free flour baking recipes!

Almond Flour – Another gluten free flour that pairs perfectly with the gluten free 1:1 mix for structure while baking and overall texture. Make sure to use almond flour and not almond meal, the flour is much more fine ground!

Pumpkin Pie Spice – These pumpkin cupcakes wouldn’t be the same without the cozy addition of pumpkin pie spice. It’s most often a blend of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and sometimes allspice.

Baking Soda – Gives rise and structure to the cupcakes while baking.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Thick and luscious, this maple cream cheese frosting is dangerously delicious. I could eat it by the spoonful and will admit that I did quite a bit of “taste testing” while making it … couldn’t resist 😉

I’ve always been a fan of the pumpkin spice + cream cheese combination so this frosting was an absolute must for the cupcakes. It adds such a cool and creamy contrast to the warming spice of the pumpkin cupcakes, it’s a match made in heaven! All you’ll need …

Cream Cheese – I love using a high quality cream cheese for the rich flavor and creamy texture. If you need to make this dairy free, I suggest using Kite Hill dairy free cream cheese. The flavor and texture was spot on!

Powdered Sugar – Sweetens the cream cheese mixture and adds the light and fluffy texture necessary for frosting.

Maple Syrup – Adds sweetens plus Fall flavor with the cozy essence of maple.

Cinnamon – It wouldn’t be a Fall recipe without even more cinnamon now would it?!

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How to Make Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line 12 muffins with regular size muffin liners from If You Care.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and coconut sugar. Add pumpkin puree and stir until combined. Whisk in melted coconut oil and vanilla extract until well combined.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, almond flour, pumpkin pie spice, ground cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
4. To the mixing bowl with the wet ingredients, fold in dry ingredients just until moistened.
5. Split batter evenly between 12 lined muffin tins, filling until they are full. I used a tbsp sized cookie scoop.
6. Move to the oven and bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes (mine took 28 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out crumb free. Let cool completely.
7. While the cupcakes are cooling, make your frosting. To a large mixing bowl, add your cream cheese, powdered sugar, maple syrup, and ground cinnamon until smooth. 
8. Top your cooled cupcakes with the maple cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!

How to Frost Cupcakes

Now I will admit, when I’m not planning to photograph my sweets I’m not one to get so *fancy* with the frosting. I’ll typically just use a spoon or spatula to spread a thick layer on top of the cupcake and call it good!

If you want to do something a little extra though, here are my tips.

• Chill the frosting in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. You want it to firm up a bit without getting too hard.
• Cool the cupcakes completely! This step is important because if the cupcake is still warm in the slightest, the frosting will begin to melt/soften and lose its shape.
• Use a piping bag or a ziploc bag. Once your frosting is chilled, spoon it into a piping bag or ziploc and cut a tiny corner piece off. Gently squeeze the bag until frosting starts to pipe out of the opening.
• Keep it simple! As you can see with these cupcakes, I just did a simple layered circle design to add height and volume to the cupcakes.

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Healthy Pumpkin Desserts

If you’re like me and can’t get enough of the pumpkin baked goods, these are the recipes you should try next!

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies – A soft fluffy inside and crisp cinnamon sugar outside make these pumpkin cookies one of my favorites. Think of them as the traditional sugar cookie but with a fun pumpkin twist.

Pumpkin Pie Bars – A crisp shortbread like crust is topped with creamy pumpkin pie mixture and whipped cream. Just like pumpkin pie but 10x easier and just as delicious!

If you try any of these recipes, please let me know by leaving a comment and rating in the boxes below! I always love to hear from you, and it also helps other people find this recipe when they search online for the BEST Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting 🙂