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Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Around the holidays I’m always inspired by all the beautiful pies I see on social media! While I am by no means a pie expert, these cupcakes help satisfy my pumpkin pie aspirations, through a different medium. They’re made with a pumpkin cupcake batter, filled with a no-bake pumpkin pie filling, and frosted with a buttercream “crust.” The recipe and a quick tutorial are included below:

Pumpkin Cupcake Batter

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin spice
  • 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs

Pumpkin Pie Filling: 

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 package instant vanilla pudding mix (3.4 oz box)
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp pumpkin spice
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients: 

  • 4 sticks or 2 cups (434 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 8 cups (907 grams) powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp (3 grams) salt
  • 2 Tbsp. (30 grams) heavy cream
  • 3 tsp (12 grams) vanilla
  • yellow and brown food coloring

Bake time: 17 minutes

Yield: 12-14 cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit. Line two muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Place the flour, sugar, dark brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin spice into a large bowl. Gently stir to combine. Add in the oil and pumpkin, and stir until incorporated. Mix in the eggs, one at a time. Add a squirt of orange gel food coloring, and stir until the batter is evenly colored.

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full, and bake for 17 minutes. Remove from oven and place on wire racks to cool. To speed up the cooling process, you can also place the cupcakes in the freezer for 15 minutes.

While the cupcakes bake, prepare the pumpkin pie filling. Pour one cup of cold heavy cream into a medium sized bowl, and whisk in 1 package of vanilla pudding mix. Whisk until the mixture is smooth, then add in 1 cup of pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon. Mix until fully incorporated. Add a small squirt of orange gel food coloring if desired, to achieve a more vibrant shade of orange. Chill in the fridge.

Next, make the “pie crust” frosting! Beat the butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment, until smooth. Slowly add in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Alternate with small splashes of cream. Once fully mixed, add in the vanilla and salt, and beat on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated, and the desired consistency is reached.  Add in a tiny bit of brown and yellow food coloring, to achieve a tan shade that resembles a pie crust. If the frosting is too thick, add in cream (1 teaspoon at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (quarter of a cup at a time).

Once the cupcakes are baked and fully cooled, use a small knife to remove the centers of the cupcakes. I cut out a large portion of the cupcake, so that I could fit in a lot of the pumpkin pie filling, but this is a matter of preference.

MVI_1249_Moment (2)

Fill the centers with the chilled pumpkin pie mixture, the smooth the tops using an offset spatula. Place half of the frosting in a piping bag with a wilton 103 tip, and the rest into a bag with a small round opening.

MVI_1258_Moment

Pipe a variety of lattice designs and crusts onto the cupcakes. Below are the designs I made!

IMG_1275 (2)

You can pipe your favorite pie decorations, and also can modify this recipe to make different pie flavored cupcakes 🙂

IMG_1388 (2)

Candice

Wednesday 9th of October 2019

What is the measurement for the cupcake batter for all purpose flour and pumpkin pie spice? It is showing up as a 1 with a ? Like this - 1?

Didn’t know if it is supposed to be 1 or 1 1/4?

Thank you!!

Chelsweets

Tuesday 15th of October 2019

So sorry about that Candice! I'm not sure why that happened, but I just updated it so it should be good to go now :)

Melanie

Saturday 5th of October 2019

Hi Chelsey, is it just me or do some of your ingredients show the amount as "1?"...

Chelsweets

Tuesday 15th of October 2019

So sorry about that Melanie! I'm not sure why that happened, but I just updated it so it should be good to go now :)

Tembra

Friday 16th of November 2018

Hi! Any special tips you used to pipe ?

Chelsweets

Tuesday 4th of December 2018

I used a variety! but for most of them it was a small round tip or a wilton 102 (for the wider piping)!

Holly

Wednesday 7th of November 2018

Does this cake have to be refrigerated? I don’t refrigerate my cakes but I’ve never done a filling before. Thanks!

Chelsweets

Tuesday 4th of December 2018

It can sit out for a day, but i'd recommend putting it in the fridge if you plan to have it sit out for longer than that!

anne

Tuesday 6th of November 2018

Hi Chelsea, What size box of instant pudding mix do you use for the pumpkin pie filling? Thanks! Anne

Chelsweets

Wednesday 7th of November 2018

great question! the smallest kind, i believe it's the 3.4 oz size!