Name: Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 19 min
Total time: 34 min
Yield: 16 cupcakes
Cuisine: American

Cooking with Conks Verified

February 3, 2026

These spiced pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting are moist, soft, and full of fall flavor! They’re made with pumpkin puree and sour cream for extra moisture, tenderness, and squishiness, and they’re each frosted with a swirl of cinnamon cream cheese frosting. If you’re ready to lean into cozy fall feels and your not-so-secret pumpkin spice obsession, you need to make these little handheld cakes immediately!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting cover

From the Cook

1/8

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Cooking with Conks Verified

Ingredients

WarningMilk and 5 other allergens identified

Instructions

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake tray with liners.

Mix the dry ingredients together (flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice) in a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the granulated and brown sugars and the oil together with an electric beater or a whisk.

Mix in the pumpkin puree and then the sour cream.

Beat in the eggs, then the vanilla and the lemon juice.

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the sugars, oil, pumpkin, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until combined, but be careful not to overmix or the cake will be gummy.

Fill each cupcake liner about ⅔ of the way full with batter (about 3 tbsp per liner).

Bake for 17-19 minutes, then let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting them.

For the frosting, mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and sea salt with an electric beater until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes using an offset spatula or a piping bag. Decorate with an extra dusting of cinnamon.

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Tips & Tricks (5)

Moisture Magic 💧
Always use room temperature sour cream and eggs to ensure a perfectly moist and evenly mixed cupcake batter that prevents lumps and promotes even rising.
Spice Precision 🌶️
Toast your pumpkin pie spice in a dry pan for 30 seconds before adding to the batter to intensify the warm, deep flavors and increase aromatic complexity.
Frosting Finesse 🧁
Chill your cream cheese and butter for 10-15 minutes before making the frosting to ensure a perfectly smooth, pipeable consistency without becoming too soft.
Pumpkin Perfection 🎃
Drain excess liquid from canned pumpkin puree by placing it in a fine-mesh strainer for 15 minutes to prevent watery cupcake batter and ensure optimal texture.
Cupcake Cooling Technique ❄️
Let cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes before frosting to prevent the cream cheese frosting from melting and ensure a clean, professional finish.

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About the Cook

Cooking with Conks

We’re Rachel & Emily Conklin (“Conks” for short), sisters, lifelong foodies, and the voices behind Cooking with Conks. We grew up in Southern California, surrounded by bold flavors, big family meals, and the kind of kitchen chaos that turns into inside jokes