Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cupcakes With Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cupcakes With Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting – My favorite gluten-free pumpkin cupcake recipe! These fluffy cupcakes have warm spices and a lovely cinnamon cream cheese frosting you’ll love!
Aren’t cupcakes one of the happiest treats? I LOVE them! I love that they’re already served in individual portions (no slicing needed!), and they’re pretty easy to transport–perfect for parties, get-togethers, birthdays, and celebrations of all kinds.
These Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting are a fall celebration dream come true. They’re just what you need when the weather turns colder and pumpkin season arrives. Enjoy them for a September movie night, serve them up as Halloween cupcakes, add them them to a Thanksgiving dessert bar for the folks who don’t love pie, or enjoy them in the holiday season. See? Dreamy!
There are SO many reasons to love these pumpkin cupcakes, but here are 5 things I know you’ll love as much as we do…
Table Of Contents:
- What Makes These Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cupcakes Amazing
- Let’s Talk About Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting (Tips & Technique)
- FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The Best Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Decorating Ideas For Pumpkin Cupcakes
- VIDEO TUTORIAL: Pumpkin Cupcakes Recipe
- Tools We Recommend For These Cupcakes
- RECIPE: Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cupcakes With Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
What Makes These GLuten-Free Pumpkin Cupcakes Amazing:
- They’re So Easy To Make. This gluten-free pumpkin cupcake recipe is great for beginners! You’ll mix the dry ingredients, mix the wet ingredients, then stir them together. Scoop into muffin cups and bake. That’s it!
- The Blend Of Warm Spices. A mixture of warm spices and vanilla make our pumpkin cupcakes smell and taste incredible. Every bite is full of goodness!
- Their Fluffy, Light Texture. Gluten-free cupcakes sometimes have an unfortunate reputation for being dense or heavy. Not these gluten-free pumpkin cupcakes! Even with the pumpkin, they’re light and fluffy in all the best ways. They feel like a true delight!
- The Yummy Cream Cheese Frosting. Cream cheese frosting is a classic pairing with pumpkin cupcakes and pumpkin cake, but we take things up a notch with our cinnamon cream cheese frosting, which has notes of vanilla and cinnamon. It’s incredible with cupcakes!
- They’re Fun To Dress Up! They look gorgeous and happy with just the cupcakes and frosting, but they’re also really fun to “dress up” with garnishes. Don’t miss our favorite decorating ideas below!
Let’s Talk about our Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting!
FLAVOR: Our Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting is perfect for gluten-free pumpkin cupcakes! I love the slight tang from the cream cheese and the soft complementary flavors of the vanilla and cinnamon. They really play up and balance the warm spices in the pumpkin cupcake recipe.
TEXTURE: You can make your cream cheese frosting softer if you plan to spread it on with a spatula (small offset spatulas like these make that easy!) or you can make it slightly more stiff to pipe the frosting on, as we did for these photos. Either way, cinnamon cream cheese frosting is slightly more substantial than a traditional American buttercream, but it’s still light and airy, thanks to the flavors and technique.
Get The Right Consistency
- If you plan to spread the frosting on, you don’t need quite as much powdered sugar, since the frosting can be spread on a bit more softly.
- If you plan to pipe the frosting on, you’ll need it to hold its shape a bit more, which means adding a bit more powdered sugar to the cinnamon cream cheese frosting to stiffen it up.
- Too thick? Too thin? As with most frostings, if you want it more stiff or thicker, add powdered sugar a bit at a time. If it’s too thick, thin it out with a little bit more milk at a time. Many things can impact how a frosting mixes up (the temperature of your room & ingredients, for instance), so you’ll need to do a little detective work to get the frosting to the proper thickness/stiffness.
PIPING & DECORATING TIPS: I love the look of piping the cinnamon cream cheese frosting onto these gluten-free pumpkin cupcakes! I’d consider piping an intermediate to advanced skill, so keep that in mind if you plan to go for it! I used a Wilton 1M open star tip for the cupcakes in the photos. They can also look cute with a more intricate Ateco #849 tip or a simpler Ateco #808 large circle tip.
FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The Best Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cupcakes:
MAKE THEM PRETTY WITH ONE OF THESE GARNISHES! The fluffy gluten-free pumpkin cupcakes and gorgeous cinnamon cream cheese frosting are enough to make these look lovely, but if you want to add a little something extra, try garnishing them with caramel sauce, chopped pecans, white sprinkles, cinnamon sticks, or a light dusting of cinnamon or pumpkin spice.
CAN I MAKE PUMPKIN CUPCAKES IN ADVANCE? Yes! This is great news, if you’re bringing them to a party or get-together. The cupcakes can be baked, cooled, and frozen for up to 1 month or stored in the refrigerator 1-2 days in advance. (You will NOT freeze them with frosted.) The frosting can be prepared 2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
I DON’T LIKE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING. ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS? I get that not everyone’s a fan of cream cheese frosting! I’d recommend a salted caramel buttercream, or even a marshmallow buttercream instead!
THE BEST CUPCAKE LINERS EVER. These parchment liners are my absolute favorite. They’re neutral, so they work for any occasion, and they’re completely nonstick, which means you won’t lose half your cupcake to the wrapper. (I hate when that happens!)
WHAT’S THE BEST GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR FOR CUPCAKES? In our experience, the best gluten-free flour for cupcakes is a measure-for-measure blend with xanthan gum. We highly and very strongly recommend King Arthur Measure-For-Measure Flour. With any flour you use, be sure to use the Scoop & Level Method to measure or weigh it properly! Adding excess flour leads to dense, gummy cupcakes.
tools of the trade we recommend:
- Light-Colored Muffin Pan – This bakes evenly and consistently. No burned bottoms!
- The BEST Nonstick Parchment Liners – No more losing half your cupcake or muffin to the wrapper!
- Medium Cookie Scoop – Makes portioning batter SUPER easy and consistent. (Also great for cookies!)
- Wilton 1M Piping Tip – This open star tip makes such pretty swirled frosting!
- King Arthur Measure-For-Measure Flour. A great baking flour blend that gives us fluffy cakes, fudgy brownies, and perfect cookies.
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cupcakes With Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 14–16 Cupcakes 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
My favorite gluten-free pumpkin cupcake recipe! These fluffy cupcakes have warm spices and a lovely cinnamon cream cheese frosting you’ll love!
Ingredients
For The Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cupcakes:
- 1 3/4 cup (210g.) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour, scooped & leveled.) (We like King Arthur Brand)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 3/4 tsp. cinnamon*
- 1/4 tsp. ginger*
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg*
- 1/4 tsp. cardamom*
- 1/8 tsp. cloves*
- 1 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup avocado oil (or another neutral oil, like sunflower or canola)
- 1/3 cup milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
For The Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 oz.) butter, softened
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 3.5–5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
- tiny pinch (less than 1/8 tsp.) salt
Optional Ideas, For Decoration:
- Caramel sauce (like Ghiradelli brand), cinnamon sticks, sprinkles, chopped pecans, pumpkin spice or cinnamon for lightly dusting, etc.
Instructions
For The Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with parchment liners or grease well to avoid sticking.
- In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, and cloves. Whisk until well combined and no large clumps of flour remain.
- In a large bowl or a stand mixer, combine the wet ingredients. Mix pumpkin puree, brown sugar, eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla. Whisk or mix until smooth.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Try not to overmix. Just stop mixing when there aren’t any large clumps of dry ingredients remaining.
- Scoop the batter into your prepared muffin cups, filling each cup only 2/3 full (if you end up filling them 3/4 full, you won’t have as many cupcakes and may need to bake them longer.)
- (Note: You’ll likely have 14-16 cupcakes total, so you’ll need to bake the last few in a second batch, or you can use a second muffin pan, if you have one.)
- Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees F. for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs and the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently pressed with your finger.
- Bake any remaining cupcakes, as needed.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting them.
For The Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a large bowl or a stand mixer, combine butter and cream cheese. Beat until smooth and well combined.
- Add 3.5 cups powdered sugar, as well as the vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.
- Beat the frosting on low for about 30 seconds while the powdered sugar is getting incorporated, then beat on medium speed about 2 minutes. The frosting will be lighter in texture and color as more air is incorporated.
- If you plan to frost the cupcakes (rather than pipe the icing), you’ll want to check the frosting texture here. It’ll be soft, but shouldn’t be drippy or too loose. You may want to add an additional 1/2 cup of powdered sugar if your frosting seems too soft. Spread the frosting on cooled cupcakes and decorate with any desired garnishes, like caramel sauce, cinnamon sticks, pecans, sprinkles, or a pinch of cinnamon.
- If you plan to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes, you’ll need to make sure the frosting is stiff enough to hold its shape. This means adding an additional 1-1.5 cups powdered sugar. Start 1/2 cup at a time, beating to incorporate the powdered sugar after each addition, until your frosting can easily hold its shape. (You can test this by dolloping a bit on the edge of a butter knife and seeing how the frosting behaves. If it drips off or spreads, it’s likely too soft. Keep adding powdered sugar until you reach the right consistency. For me, this is usually at the 4.5 cup mark, though if your kitchen is hot, or the butter has gotten warm, you may need a full 5 cups.) Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes as desired, and top with any desired garnishes, like caramel sauce, cinnamon sticks, pecans, sprinkles, or a pinch of cinnamon.
Notes
*You can substitute 1 tsp. cinnamon and 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin spice instead of the spices listed, if desired.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: gluten-free pumpkin cupcakes, gluten-free pumpkin cupcake recipe, gluten free cupcakes, cinnamon cream cheese frosting
More Gluten-Free pumpkin recipes To Love:
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Streusel Bread With Maple Glaze
- Maple Sweetened Pumpkin Pie – One Lovely Life
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bars
- Almond Flour Pumpkin Cake – One Lovely Life
Excellent cupcakes!! Just wondering though where the nutritional value statistics are. I printed to include them but nothing was there. Thanks!!
Hi, Trish! Sorry for the confusion. I actually don’t include nutrition facts with any of our recipes, but MyFitnessPal is a great free option if you need to calculate them yourself 🙂 So glad you loved the cupcakes!
thanks!! Can I make a a cake instead of cupcakes?
Hi, Trish! You probably can–this post with conversion tips is a great place to start!