Greetings and happy Fall, y’all. I’m back, back again. And slightly late for Halloween baking, but hopefully in plenty of time for anyone contemplating some seasonal baking this November. These pumpkin cupcakes are super easy and delicious. And I don’t even like pumpkin!

The recipe is also quite versatile – since I’ve mostly made it as pumpkin pound cake. Or, to be more precise, pumpkin bundt cake – since I usually make it in bundt pans. I’ve been making it for years and every year intend to post the recipe. Then… it doesn’t happen. Until now!

I had a Halloween party last weekend, so I made the recipe into cupcakes. Lo and behold, they turned out great! And, again, suuuuuuper easy to throw together.

Since I’m generally somewhat ambivalent about cupcakes, I don’t post many recipes for those. In all likelihood, I’ll make this as a bundt cake 9 times out of 10. However, I’ve got a picture of frosted cupcakes. So, here we are. You get the gist. Choose your own format of delivery for this very tasty Fall treat.

Ingredients are listed in the order they appear in the recipe and anything that requires prep is in bold. Ingredients are bolded in the directions when you first encounter them, and the quantity required is included. Time estimates are bolded and italicized. I also include notes about any special equipment you’ll need.

Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Required equipment: muffin tins. Or a bundt pan if you’re feeling bundty. The frosting will be easier with a mixer of some sort, but you could do it by hand if you really had to.

• 2 cups (300g) flour
• 2 cups (400g) sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 (15oz) can pumpkin

For the frosting:

• 2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese (16 oz total), softened
• 1 1/2 sticks (12 Tablespoons, 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (or, to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Prep work: set out the butter and cream cheese to soften/come to room temperature. They should be good to go by the time your cake/cupcakes cool.

Preheat the oven to 350º F.

Line muffin tins with paper liners (the recipe will make 24 very full/puffy cupcakes with a bit left over. You could probably stretch it to 36 if you’re feeding a crowd). OR grease your bundt pan.

In a large bowl whisk together the 2 cups (300g) flour, 2 cups (400g) sugar, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, and 3 teaspoons cinnamon. 

In a large liquid measuring cup, measure 1 cup vegetable oil. Then crack the 4 eggs into the measuring cup and whisk it all together. Pour the liquids into the flour mixture. Add in the contents of the can of pumpkin and then mix it all together with a wooden spoon or sturdy silicone spatula.

Voila! It’s ready to go into whatever pan you like. 

For cupcakes, bake for 19-22 minutes. For a bundt cake, probably between 60-70 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. And/or when you press down gently on the top and the cake springs back at the touch.

Let cool completely before frosting.

For the cream cheese frosting:

Mix 2 packages cream cheese and 1 1/2 sticks butter together with a mixer until well mixed and fluffy. Add the 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and mix until combined.

Note: I make my frosting pretty willy nilly/to taste. So feel free to add more or less powdered sugar to your liking. This is a fairly loose frosting that isn’t too sweet, so if you’re looking to get decorative/do a bunch of piping, you might want to try a different recipe.