This made-from-scratch bakery recipe makes incredibly moist pumpkin spice cupcakes that are soft and fluffy. They are spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves and topped with a creamy and fluffy cinnamon cream cheese buttercream frosting! Even better, they are easy to make!If you have a kitchen scale, please select grams above the ingredients for the most accurate results. If you don’t have a scale, no worries!–just be sure to “spoon and level” your dry ingredients.
Servings 23cupcakes
Prep Time 15 minutesmins
Cook Time 16 minutesmins
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
1 ¾cupsAll-Purpose Flour(I use Gold Medal)
1 ½teaspoonsBaking Powder
1teaspoon(s)Baking Soda
¾teaspoon(s)Salt
2TablespoonsInstant Clearjel(A bakery ingredient you can use at home--see Note #1. Please make sure your clearjel is labeled as "Instant")
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Fill cupcake tins with 24 cupcake liners.
Using a sifter or fine mesh strainer, sift the Dry Ingredients minus the brown sugar into a large bowl. Add the brown sugar to the sifted ingredients and whisk until well blended. If you see any brown sugar clumps, break them up and blend them in with your fingers.
Combine Wet Ingredients in a separate large bowl and whisk until smooth and well-blended.
Melt saltedbutter in the microwave (or over the stove) until just melted. Avoid overcooking.
Pour Wet Ingredients into Dry Ingredients and whisk until incorporated. Pour Melted Salted Butter over batter and whisk in until smooth and shiny.
Using a 2-oz scoop or ¼ cup measuring cup, scoop batter into prepared cupcake tins. Allow tins to set for 5 minutes before putting them in the oven. This will give time for the instant clearjel to thicken the cake batter before it bakes, allowing for a better rise.
Bake on the middle or top rack (avoid bottom rack) of the preheated 325-degree oven for 8 minutes. Without opening the oven, turn the temperature down to 300 degrees and bake for another 6-8 minutes. The cupcakes are done when a toothpick or small paring knife comes out mostly clean when quickly stuck in the cupcakes. These cupcakes are often done before looking done, as the cupcake tops will be shiny, but they will bounce back when lightly touched with your finger. Because these cupcakes are so moist, it is okay to see a couple of moist crumbs on your knife when you check the finished product for doneness. But any wet-looking crumbs mean they need more time in the oven.
If you are frosting and serving them the next day, wrap the cupcakes in the cupcake tin and leave at room temperature overnight. You may also freeze the unfrosted cupcakes wrapped tightly in the cupcake tin and they will stay very moist.
I like to use 18" disposable pastry bags and a Round Cupcake Tip to pipe a generous swirl of cinnamon buttercream on top of each cupcake. Drizzle the easy caramel drizzle on top of each cupcake (I use a squeeze bottle for this), then add a candy pumpkin.
Serve immediately or refrigerate, but remove from fridge 2-4 hours before serving as they have the best texture at room temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
Read my article Instant Clearjel: a Magical Bakery Ingredient to see why I think this ingredient is worth having in your pantry. Instant Clearjel must always be whisked thoroughly with other dry ingredients before being added to wet ingredients to avoid clumping. (Make sure what you purchase is labeled as "Instant." Cooktyle Clearjel is a different product that does not work the same in cakes).
The recommended batch size of frosting makes enough for a generous swirl on each cupcake. If you prefer less frosting, you may halve the frosting amount.