Spice Cupcakes: Easy Recipe From Scratch (2024)

These spice cupcakes are made with fluffy brown sugar and warm spices, and bake up so moist and tender!

As if that wasn’t enough, they’re topped with a rich cream cheese buttercream and a dusting of cinnamon. It’s truly the perfect Fall cupcake recipe!

My Secret Ingredient(s): The Perfect Balance of Warm Spices

These cupcakes are made with ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.

The ratio of spices (heavy on the cinnamon, just a pinch of cloves) gives them such a warm, balanced flavor.

Two other important ingredients in this recipe are sour cream and butter.

These ingredients create a tender, moist cupcake and let the warm spices really shine through in every bite.

Picking the Right Frosting

When I think of a spice cupcake, the first frosting that comes to mind is cream cheese buttercream. It’s such a classic combination!!

My cream cheese buttercream has the delicious tang of cream cheese but is sturdy like my classicAmerican buttercream. This means you can easily use it to pipe onto cupcakes.

I am obsessed with this frosting but I think that my spiced cream cheese frosting or my hybrid buttercream would taste great on these too. You can check out all my frosting recipes here.

Let’s Make These Spice Cupcakes Together!

Let’s walk through each step of this spice cupcake recipe to make sure it turns out as amazing as possible! I’ve also shared a video tutorial below.

Step 1: Make the Spice Cupcake Batter

Begin by preheating the oven to 350°F/175°C and lining a muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners.

Make sure you properly cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.

It should be mixed on high for a couple minutes and become lighter in color as air is whipped into it.

Next, mix in the eggs one at a time. If the batter looks broken at this stage, don’t worry! It’ll come together once we add in the dry ingredients.

Then mix in the sour cream, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Mix on a medium speed until combined.

The last step is to sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

If you don’t have a sifter, whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, then add them in. The batter should be thick and fluffy! Don’t over-mix!!

Step 2: Bake the Spice Cupcakes

Divide the batter evenly between the liners and fill them about 2/3 way full. Bake for 18-21 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Let the cupcakes cool for 10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

If you’re in a rush, place the entire pan in the freezer for 30 minutes to accelerate the cooling process.

Step 3: Make the Cream Cheese Buttercream

While the cupcakes bake and cool, make the cream cheese frosting.

If the frosting seems too thick, add in additional cream (1 Tablespoon at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (1/4 cup at a time).

Once the frosting is made, stir it by hand with a rubber spatula to get the frosting SUPER smooth.

Then place the frosting in a piping bag fitted with your favorite frosting tip. I used an Ateco 869.

Step 4: Frost the Cupcakes

The final step is to pipe large swirls onto the fully cooled cupcakes. Dust with a bit of cinnamon and enjoy!

If you don’t have any frosting tips, you can also use a Freezer ziplock bag and trim the corner to have a 2 cm opening.

No matter how you decorate them, they’re going to be incredibly moist and delicious. I mean, just look at that crumb!!

Substitutions and Swaps – Spice Cupcakes

Now that we’ve covered how to make these cupcakes, let’s talk about the ingredients!!

This recipe uses quite a few ingredients and I know you might not have them all on hand.

Or if you have food allergies or restrictions, I’ve got you covered. Below are some swaps and substitutions that you can make.

• All Purpose Flour– This recipe turns out best with AP flour, but you can use a gluten free flour blend if needed.
• Granulated Sugar– I do not recommend reducing the amount of sugar or changing the type of sugar as it will change the texture of these cupcakes.
• Vegetable Oil– You can use any flavorless oil in this recipe. Canola or sunflower oil would work great!
• Large Eggs– If you have an egg allergy, try using 2 flaxseed eggs or a vegan egg replacer like this one made by Bob’s Red Mill.

Substitutions and Swaps – Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

• Unsalted Butter– If you only have salted butter on hand, you can use it in place of the unsalted butter. Just be sure to omit the salt that this frosting recipe calls for.
• Cream Cheese – The frosting turns out best with full fat cream cheese. I use the type that comes in a block.
• Heavy Cream– Whipping cream, coconut cream, or alternative milk (soy, almond, oat, coconut) will work fine in this frosting recipe if that’s what you have on hand.

Tips for Making the Best Spice Cupcakes

• Ingredients at room tempmix together better. Set out any cold ingredients ahead of time.
• Properly measure the flour(spoon into the cup measure, then level) oruse akitchen scaleto measure your dry ingredients.
• Mix the cupcake batter just until the ingredients are incorporated once you’ve added in the flour. This will ensure your cupcakes are tender and fluffy.
• Use a large cookie scoop to easily fill your cupcake liners. It also makes sure your cupcakes end up being the same height and bake evenly.
• Seal off the top the piping bag with a rubber band to prevent any frosting from coming out the top of the bag and make the piping bags easier to use.

Making This Spice Cupcake Recipe in Advance

You can make these cupcakes in advance! Frosted cupcakes can sit at room temperature for a few hours or be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.

They can also last up to a month in the freezer. If you plan to freeze them, I suggest waiting to frost them until they’re thawed.

You can also make the cream cheese frosting ahead of time or save any leftovers. This buttercream frosting will last in the fridge for up to a month.

Be sure to give the frosting a good stir once it thaws to get the consistency nice and smooth again.

You can also store buttercream in piping bags in the fridge. I find buttercream keeps its consistency well in piping bags and doesn’t require any mixing after it’s thawed.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you make this spice cupcake recipe, I’d love to hear what you think of it! Please leave a rating below.

Don’t forget to tag me @chelsweets and #chelsweets so that I can see your amazing creations on social media.

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