If you’ve been searching for the perfect fall spice cupcake for an autumn party or Thanksgiving dessert – look no further because we have an easy, homemade recipe for you to try out! The cupcake alone is divine (especially warm and fresh from the oven), but the cream cheese frosting is made with maple pecan liqueur and the combined result will have your guests begging for more! And don’t worry – we know you can’t make cupcakes and not have a kid-friendly version, so we’ll also share the Vanilla Maple Frosting recipe we made for our littles.
Fall Spice Cupcake Recipe
Okay friends, before we dive right into the details, if you have a special party, shower or are hosting a big group for Thanksgiving, be sure to grab our Party Planning Checklist so you can keep track of all the important details with ease. Now that you have that, let’s begin with the Spice Cupcake Recipe…
You’ll want to gather all of your ingredients and give the butter time to soften before you begin. Although not pictured, the recipe calls for almond milk mixed with lemon juice (which I used in place of buttermilk). If you have a milk allergy, this will work perfect for you. We quit buying cow’s milk a while ago and I didn’t have buttermilk on hand, so I used what I had and it turned out great! Feel free to improvise with what you have in your kitchen or with what suits your diet.
Begin by mixing all of your dry ingredients together first – the spices smell amazing together and will help conjure up fall right in your kitchen! Next, mix in the wet ingredients and beat for several minutes until nice and creamy. Then pour into your muffin tins or cupcake liners.
I did a mix of mini muffins for the kids and found these gold “thankful” baking cups at Home Goods which I thought would be perfect! This was my first time baking in a cup like this and they worked like a charm! You just fill them about half full, place them on a baking sheet and bake! These cups were made by Simply Baked and you can find several variations on Amazon. I think these orange polka dot baking cups would be great for fall or Thanksgiving dessert and you can use these for so many things… fill them with fresh fruit, mini salads, caramel popcorn, crayons… get creative!
Maple Pecan Frosting Recipe
While they’re baking, you can start on the frosting. I saw Mr. Stack’s Maple Pecan Liqueur when I was shopping for the ingredients for our Maple Cider Bliss cocktail (which is a must try btw) and I had to get it. I thought I could make some awesome fall cocktails with it… and then I had the idea for the frosting!
So you’ll want to gather your ingredients for this cream cheese frosting and begin by creaming the butter and cream cheese together until it’s smooth. Then slowly mix in your powdered sugar. After I had that mixed together, I actually divided the frosting into two bowls so I could make an adult version and a kid version. If you’re not doing that, then just continue on and add in your Maple Pecan Liqueur. And feel free to adjust how much you add, depending on how boozy you want your cupcakes! 🙂
Once you’re done with the icing, pipe it onto the cupcakes and you’re done! I fell in love with these edible fall leaves I saw on Amazon, but I couldn’t get them here in time for my photo shoot, so I used these wooden leaves I purchased last year to decorate my mom’s 70th Birthday Cake. The final look was elegant and simple.
For the kid’s version of the mini cupcakes, I added vanilla and maple syrup to the frosting before decorating and topping with a mix of orange, yellow and green sprinkles. I think they’re just darling in these gold mini cupcake liners, don’t you? And let me tell you… the combination of that vanilla maple frosting with the spice cupcake… it’s out of this world!
Go ahead and check out the full recipes below! These fall cupcakes are easy to bake and your guests will absolute rave about how amazing they taste!
| Cook Time | 18 minutes |
| Servings |
cupcakes
|
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 /4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 /4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger
- 1 cup almond milk (can substitute with buttermilk)
- 2 tbs lemon juice (eliminate if buttermilk is used instead)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 4 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 4 cups confectioner's sugar
- 4 tbs maple pecan liqueur use more or less to your taste
Ingredients
Spice Cupcakes
Vanilla Maple Frosting
Maple Pecan Frosting
|
|
- Preheat over to 350 degrees.
- In a bowl, combine the almond milk and lemon juice and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. If you're using buttermilk in its place, skip this step.
- In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and your spices. Add the almond milk (or buttermilk), butter and vanilla.
- Beat with an electric mixer on low until combined and then beat on high for 2 more minutes.
- Add your eggs and beat for 2 more minutes.
- Pour your batter into baking liners or lined or greased cupcake pans (large or mini) and bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes for standard sized cupcakes (may be slightly longer if you use a baking liner, depending on size) or about 12 minutes for mini cupcakes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack before icing.
- In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese and butter until creamy.
- Slowly add in the confectioners' sugar and the maple pecan liqueur until the mixture is spreadable.
- In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese and butter until creamy.
- Slowly add in the confectioners' sugar, the vanilla and the maple syrup until the mixture is spreadable.
Please note: The ingredient list for the two types of frosting will frost a whole cake or 24 cupcakes. If you're splitting your recipe and doing half for adults and half for children like I did, be sure to cut your ingredient list in half.
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