These pumpkin spice cupcakes with brown butter icing are a soft and quick cupcake recipe loaded with pumpkin flavour and topped with a delicious brown butter icing. This is one of the best fall dessert recipes and you’ll love how easy it is to make!

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If you’re a fan of easy pumpkin spice desserts you’ll love this easy cupcakes recipe. The cupcakes are perfectly spiced for a warming, Autumnal flavour and the brown butter icing adds a nutty deliciousness you won’t be able to resist. This post will show you how to make pumpkin spice cupcakes and brown butter icing.

A pumpkin spice cupcake with brown butter icing

Why You’ll Love This Recipe:

Perfect for Autumn: With a rich pumpkin flavour and a cosy spice mix, these cupcakes are just what you need to bring the autumn vibes into your kitchen.
Incredibly Moist: Thanks to the pumpkin puree and oil, these cupcakes are incredibly moist and soft, making each bite a little piece of heaven.

Topped with Brown Butter Icing: The nutty, caramel-like flavour of the brown butter icing is the perfect match for the spiced cupcakes – it’s the kind of icing that’ll have you licking your fingers!
Quick & Easy to Make: You won’t need any fancy ingredients or complicated steps. These cupcakes come together quickly, making them ideal for a last-minute Autumn treat or a cosy baking session at home.
A Showstopper Dessert: Whether you’re baking for a Autumn party, Halloween, or just because, these pumpkin spice cupcakes will always steal the show. Their comforting flavours and beautiful icing will have everyone asking for the recipe!

Ingredients for Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

To make these easy cupcakes, you will need:

Plain Flour: The base for the cupcakes, giving them structure while keeping them soft and light.

Pumpkin Spice Mix: The perfect autumn blend of spices, giving these cupcakes that warm, comforting pumpkin spice flavour that makes them so irresistible. You can use store-bought or make your own – it’s a great way to add your personal touch!

Baking Soda: Helps the cupcakes rise and gives them that perfect soft and fluffy texture.

Pumpkin Puree: The star of the show! It’s what makes these cupcakes so moist and gives them that delicious, seasonal pumpkin flavour.

Eggs: They provide structure and moisture, ensuring the cupcakes bake up soft and tender.

Caster Sugar & Light Brown Sugar: A combo that gives the cupcakes just the right sweetness, with the brown sugar adding a lovely depth of flavour.

Vegetable Oil: Keeps these cupcakes moist, giving them that tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Vanilla Extract: Adds a subtle warmth and rounds out the flavour, making every bite that much more delightful.

How to Make Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add cupcake liners to the pan and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine sugars, oil, pumpkin, eggs and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until combined.

In another bowl, add flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt and lightly mix to combine.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until fully incorporated. Pause and scrape the bowl to ensure all the mixture is incorporated.
Spoon 3 Tbsp of mixture into each cupcake liner.

Bake cupcakes for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean.
Transfer cupcakes to a baking rack and allow to cool to room temperature.
To make the frosting, put ½ of the butter in a saucepan on low-medium heat. Melt butter and bring to a low simmer.

Stir the butter every minute and simmer for about 5 – 6 minutes until it begins to separate. Transfer melted butter to a bowl and allow to cool (about 30-45 minutes).
Once cooled, add melted butter and additional half of the butter to a stand mixer bowl with a whisk attachment. Combine on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Turn speed to low and slowly add powdered sugar until fully combined.

Pause to scrape the bowl, add in vanilla and heavy cream.
Continue to mix on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes or until frosting appears light and smooth.

Tips for Success

For best results make sure your ingredients are at room temperature, especially the butter – it makes it much easier to incorporate!

Allow the cupcakes to cool before icing them so the icing doesn’t melt into the cupcakes.

To store the cupcakes, keep them in an airtight container. They should last up to 5 days.