Pumpkin spice latte lovers assemble! These pumpkin spice latte cupcakes have all the taste of your favorite PSL! Moist and fluffy pumpkin spice cupcakes made with pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice swirled with coffee buttercream frosting. Just like Starbucks, but in cupcake form!
Ingredients for Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
- All-purpose flour – To measure correctly, first fluff the flour before you scoop and level the measuring cup.
- Granulated sugar – For sweetness.
- Baking powder – Leavening agent to help the cupcakes rise and puff up.
- Salt – Enhances the flavor and contrasts the sweetness of the cupcakes.
- Pumpkin pie spice – A combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. Check out this blog post on how to make your own pumpkin pie spice or you can purchase pumpkin pie spice premade!
- Milk – Room temperature.
- Vegetable oil – You can also use canola oil or another neutral baking oil.
- Egg – Large egg, room temperature.
- Vanilla extract – Pure vanilla extract adds a great underlying vanilla flavor.
- Pumpkin puree – Canned pumpkin puree. The only ingredient should be pumpkin. Avoid using pumpkin pie filling as it will not work in this recipe.
Coffee Buttercream Frosting
- Unsalted butter – Room temperature.
- Powdered sugar – Also known as confectioners’ sugar or icing sugar. No need to sift unless it is lumpy.
- Instant espresso powder – Be sure you get instant espresso powder and opposed to ground espresso coffee.
- Vanilla extract – Vanilla extract adds a subtle underlying vanilla flavor to the frosting.
- Salt – A pinch of salt contrasts the sweetness of the buttercream.
- Heavy cream – A splash of heavy cream or heavy whipping cream helps the buttercream whip up and be silky smooth.
Tools & Supplies to Make Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
The pumpkin spice cupcakes are easy to make and just require a bowl and a whisk!
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Add in pumpkin puree, milk, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla extract to the flour mixture. Whisk until well combined with the dry ingredients, but do not overmix or the cupcakes will become tough and chewy.
- Portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners, filling about 3/4 full. Use a large cookie scoop for even cupcakes.
- Bake the cupcakes for approximately 20 minutes or until the cupcakes bounce back when gently touched or an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Coffee Buttercream Frosting
Coffee buttercream frosting is incredibly easy to make. I recommend using a stand mixer. You can use a whisk or paddle attachment depending upon your preferences. You can also use an electric hand mixer.
Whip the room temperature butter until light, fluffy, and pale in color. The, add powdered sugar in two batches, mixing on low in between each addition. Next, add in instant espresso powder, vanilla extract, and salt, mixing on low speed. Drizzle in the heavy cream and continue to mix on low until combined. Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and whip the buttercream for about 3 minutes. If you notice the instant espresso powder has not fully dissolved, turn the mixer on low speed and continue to mix until the granules are fully dissolved into the frosting.
Check out this blog post to learn more about coffee buttercream frosting!
Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes Recipe Tips
Pumpkin puree
As I mentioned above, be sure that you are using pure pumpkin puree as opposed to pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling contains other ingredients so you can pour it in a pie shell and bake a pumpkin pie! For this recipe, stick to 100% pure pumpkin. Check the ingredient list – the only ingredient should be pumpkin!
Pumpkin pie spice
Pumpkin pie spice adds amazing warm flavor to these cupcakes. Check out my blog post on how to make your own pumpkin pie spice or you can purchase premade pumpkin pie spice. You could also replace the pumpkin pie spice entirely with cinnamon if you prefer.
Instant espresso powder
Be sure to get instant espresso powder as opposed to espresso coffee grounds. At first, after adding the espresso powder, the buttercream will appear spotty with granules of espresso powder. No need to worry – just ‘whip it good’! Whipping the buttercream will help the espresso granules dissolve. If you notice granules in the frosting after the buttercream is done, turn the mixer to low and continue to mix until they are fully dissolved. I do not recommend using instant coffee for this recipe.
Frosting the cupcakes
To frost the cupcakes as shown in the pictures, you will need a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping tip. For these cupcakes, I created a simple “ice cream swirl” style. Check out this video on how to pipe a basic buttercream swirl. After the cupcakes are frosted, sprinkle on additional instant espresso powder for decoration and additional coffee flavor. Place a little espresso powder in a small fine mesh sieve and gently sprinkle over the top of the buttercream.
Storing and serving
Pumpkin spice latte cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. To serve, bring the cupcakes to room temperature to soften the buttercream. Remove the cupcakes from the refrigerator at least one hour before serving.
Click here to see a quick video on how to make pumpkin spice latte cupcakes! Follow Cake Me Home Tonight on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for more recipe videos and baking tutorials!
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Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes
Equipment
- Stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or electric hand mixer
Ingredients
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup milk room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Coffee Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp instant espresso powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- additional instant espresso powder for garnish
Instructions
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Add in pumpkin puree, milk, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla extract. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until full incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Fill cupcake liners ¾ full using a large cookie scoop for even cupcakes.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes bounce back when gently touched.
- Allow the cupcakes too cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Coffee Buttercream Frosting
- Add room temperature butter to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment. Whip the butter for 5 minutes on medium-high speed, scraping down the sides occasionally, until the butter is light, fluffy, and pale in color.
- Add one half of the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed setting until fully combined. Add remaining powdered sugar and continue to mix on low until incorporated.
- Add instant espresso powder, vanilla extract, and salt and mix on low until combined.
- Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream while mixing on low speed. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally to ensure the frosting is well mixed.
- Once the heavy cream is added, turn the speed on the mixer to medium-high and mix for an additional 3 minutes until smooth. If there are still instant espresso powder granules present, turn the mixer on low speed and continue to mix until they are fully dissolved.
Frosting the Cupcakes
- To frost the cupcakes as shown in the pictures, you will need a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M tip. Create an "ice cream swirl" of buttercream frosting on top of the cooled cupcakes. Start in the center, swirl outward to cover the cupcake and then swirl upward.
- Once the cupcakes are frosted, sprinkle on some additional instant espresso powder if desired.
Notes
Made This Recipe?
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Comments & Reviews
Can I make a cake with this recipe??
I haven’t tested it for a cake so I can’t say for sure! I do have a recipe for pumpkin spice cake under my cake section and a recipe for the coffee buttercream in the frosting section! Just to be sure I’m giving you correct advice, I recommend using both those recipes for best results!