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
- 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ⅓ tsp. pumpkin spice
- ¾ cup canned pumpkin
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ 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.
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.
Pipe a variety of lattice designs and crusts onto the cupcakes. Below are the designs I made!
You can pipe your favorite pie decorations, and also can modify this recipe to make different pie flavored cupcakes 🙂
