These homemade Spiced Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream are the perfect texture and spice for fall.
Please forgive me friends! This post was totally meant to go up last week and I blew it. I should know better by now that when I travel, I have zero time to a new post up for you. I call it bad blogger habits! I just returned from a whirlwind trip to Seattle that I canNOT wait to share with you! I fell in love with the city, and the food. Now I need a few weeks to detox, that’s for sure.
You may have seen these cupcakes before, that’s because I shared the tutorial for these cute little Gold Fondant Cupcake Toppers last week. At the same time, Wilton asked me to do an Instagram takeover on their page. It’s my way of slowly taking over the world via dessert. NBD.
I need to share this recipe for Spiced Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream. The recipe originally came from Food Network Magazine. They did a cupcake issue where they shared 3 basic cake recipes that could be altered to fit the needs of your dessert. It’s a great tool to have!
I’m going to be honest with you, it’s hard to find recipes for cakes from scratch that are actually GOOD and that produce an actual pretty cupcake. This recipe is a keeper. The cupcakes baked up perfectly, they stayed fresh for a couple days and the crumb was very light and delicate.
Here is a few things you can look for in a recipe to determine weather or not it will be good. Does it have a moisture-adding component like sour cream or yogurt? This is almost necessary for me.
What is the fat element? Is it butter or oil based? Usually either is fine with me. Does it use egg or egg whites? Additional egg whites will produce a lighter and fluffier cupcake.
I will tell you that no matter how good your cupcake is, if you put it in the refrigerator, it is bound to dry out. It’s been unseasonably warm, which means my house it too warm for buttercream. I will usually make the buttercream ahead of time, and refrigerate just the buttercream so I can pipe it before I serve the cupcakes. It is important that you allow enough time for the buttercream to come to room temperature before serving.
For this recipe, I used a half recipe of my perfect vanilla frosting. The cupcake recipe made 12 cupcakes, which is just perfect for me! If you double the cupcake recipe, then you can make a whole batch of my buttercream.
Check out my tutorial for these Gold Fondant Leaf Cupcake Toppers.
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Spiced Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 cupcakes
Description
These homemade Spiced Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream are the perfect texture and spice for fall.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ C All-purpose flour
- ½ tso Baking powder
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
- ½ tsp All-spice or Nutmeg
- ½ C (1 stick) Unsalted butter, browned
- ½ C Granulated sugar
- ½ C Light brown sugar
- 2 Large eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- ½ C Sour cream
- For the frosting:
- 3/4 C Unsalted butter, cold.
- 3 C Powdered sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp Heavy whipping cream
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 tbsp Caramel Sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Line your cupcake pan with baking liners.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and all spice. Whisk together and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, increase heat to medium-high and continue stirring another 2-3 minutes until butter turns a light brown color and releases a nutty aroma. Add brown butter to mixing bowl and combine with sugar and brown sugar. Beat on medium speed until well combined; scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and stir until mixed.
- Slowly add dry ingredients while beating on low speed. Lastly, add sour cream and beat until all ingredients are well combine, but do not over mix.
- Scoop batter into lined cupcake pan using a large cookie scoop (about 3 tablespoons each). Bake at 350°F and bake for 18-20 minutes.
- For the frosting:
- Cut butter into pieces. Using the paddle attachment, whip butter for 3-4 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally. Beat until butter look light in color.
- Add 2 C powdered sugar and mix on low speed until incorporated into butter.
- Add 2 tsp vanilla extract and mix to combine.
- Add additional 1 C powdered sugar and beat on low speed until sugar is incorporated. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 2-3 minutes. Add heavy whipping cream and caramel (optional) and beat on low until ingredients start to mix together. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for another 2-3 minutes to whip additional air into the frosting. Frost cooled cupcakes.
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Other recipes you might like:
Coffee Cake Snickdoodle Cupcakes
Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese
Can I make these using cake flour?
I haven’t tried
The taste was good. I used allspice instead of just nutmeg. The consistancy is more like a muffin than a cupcake. Came out more dense than I wanted. I used a different cream cheese buttercream frosting. Over all yummy but the texture isn’t there.
Thanks for sharing Lisa!
I would like them to have a rich almost caramely taste could I do 1 cup brown sugar and omit the white sugar?
Hi Jamie, I haven’t tried it but I would maybe keep 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 3/4 brown sugar.
I’m literally dying of laughter right now.
So, i tried the recipe, super yummy and delicious, one issue is 3 tablespoons for each muffin tin is WAY TOO MUCH.
my cupcakes have risen so much that it just looks like one giant cake. its seriously looks hilarious!
Will try this recipe tomorrow and I will only add 1 tablespoon per muffin tin. in the meantime, i’m just going to enjoy laughing at my disaster
Hi Hilli, I am glad you can laugh at something like that! So I have a feeling your muffin pan might just be a different size. I use a large cookie scoop, about 3 tablespoon size to fill all my cupcake liners. I included a link below that provides some measurements and visuals of the various amounts of batter. Best of luck!
https://beyondfrosting.com/cupcake-research-tips-for-bakers/
The cupcakes turned out fantastic. I used a cream cheese frosting and the result was spectacular.
Wonderful, thanks Gerald!
Fantastic recipe. The sweetness of the frosting paired wonderfully with the spicy cake. My husband and I made these for my birthday and they were just what I wanted!
Those cupcakes look perfect! Love the fondant leaf toppers, so cute. With all the spices in the cake, it has to be good! 🙂
Aww these cupcakes are gorgeous! I just love those pretty leaves! I always order chai lattes so I know I would LOVE these.
These cupcakes are just so pretty Julianne! And I know what you mean about Seattle. We took the kids in August and had an AMAZING time.
What a yummy way to welcome fall! Cute toppers too!
These look so light and fluffy and wonderful! Can’t wait to give them a try!
These cupcakes are so gorgeous. They scream fall in the best way!
TB of caramel sauce (optional?). Not for me. Yum these look good!