Cupcakes are ideal for pretty much every occasion, from weddings and birthdays to Halloween and Christmas. Since we’re talking fall, expect a lot of pumpkin spice and decadent chocolate recipes on this list. But don’t worry, there are plenty of light and bright flavors, too.
1. Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
If you’re a fan of carrot cake, I think you’ll love this recipe. Both have fantastic color and lovely warm spices, plus plenty of delectable cream cheese frosting on top. The main difference is that this recipe doesn’t include any extras, like raisins or nuts, which makes it ideal for picky eaters.
2. Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Fall means cold weather and deep flavors. More often than not, I want something that will make me feel cozy, and nothing is more comforting than salty-sweet peanut butter. Pair it with some strawberry jam in the middle, or try a rich chocolate frosting.
3. Perfect Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
Finding the perfect vanilla cupcake can be tricky, especially since we all have our own preferences. But if you ask me, this recipe is pretty close! Once you have a perfect vanilla cupcake, you can jazz it up with everything from a silky ganache filling to dreamy caramel frosting.
4. Lavender Cupcakes With Lavender Frosting
Lavender is a fragrant ingredient you can enjoy all year, and that color makes it particularly Instagram-worthy. Just remember that lavender can quickly become overwhelming, so start with just a little and taste it until you get it right.
5. Chocolate Fall Leaves on Cupcakes
Chocolatiers can make some pretty incredible things using chocolate, and if you’ve ever tried to work with it, you’ll know it’s a challenge. That said, it’s one of the best ingredients for making super-simple cupcake decorations. Since the pieces will be so small, you won’t even need to worry about tempering.
6. Strawberry Lemon Cupcakes
These light and bright strawberry and lemon cupcakes might be the most adorable on the list. They’ll have a charming and 50s sort of vibe, and I just love how simple they look. You’ll use lemon juice and lemon zest in the sponge, but if you really want to boost that zesty goodness, try adding a dollop of lemon curd as a filling.
7. Graveyard Halloween Cupcakes
Halloween cupcakes are some of my faves, mainly because it doesn’t take a lot to make them look incredible. Take this recipe, for example. All you’ll need is some gummy worms and crushed Oreo cookies on top of your chosen cupcake. How easy is that?
8. Boston Cream Cupcakes
Boston cream is my favorite kind of donut. Between the fluffy donut, cream pastry cream, and smooth chocolate, it hits all the right spots. Don’t panic if you’ve never made pastry cream before because this recipe calls for boxed vanilla pudding.
9. Bleeding Black Cupcakes
I’m kind of obsessed with these cupcakes. Halloween is one of my all-time favorite holidays, and I love black in general. You’ll need black cocoa for the cupcake, which will alter the taste a little but not too much. And the frosting is very chocolatey, so you won’t notice. If you don’t need these for Halloween, try swapping out the bloody filling for cherry or raspberry jam.
10. Chocolate and Vanilla Mummy Cupcakes
With the proper piping tip, you can make a batch of these mummy cupcakes in a flash. All you need to do is pipe lines over the top from one side to the other, making them a little random. With a chocolate cupcake, you don’t even need to pre-frost the cupcake. The candy eyes will stand out perfectly on the dark background.
11. Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
Chocolate chip cupcakes are light and sweet, with delightful pops of chocolatey goodness in each bite. I like to use mini chips since they melt into the batter as the whole thing bakes. That said, you could always chop your favorite chocolate bar into chunks.
12. Turkey Cupcakes
If you need a simple and fun activity for the kids this holiday season, you have to try these hilarious turkey cupcakes. Use mini-peanut butter cups for their heads and let the kids go nuts with all that candy corn!
13. Caramel Macchiato Cupcakes
I’m one of those people that gets a coffee almost every time I leave the house. I just can’t pass that drive-through without stopping for something sweet and caffeinated. For me, tender chocolate cake with a hint of espresso, topped with yummy coffee-flavored frosting and lashings of caramel, is about as close to heaven as you can get.
14. Almond Joy Cupcakes
Almond Joys are rich, decadent, and wonderfully refreshing. That bright coconut taste makes them super addictive, so you might not want to share these cupcakes. To boost the coconut taste, try using coconut cream instead of regular, and a dash of coconut paste wouldn’t hurt either.
15. Candy Corn Cupcakes
Love it or hate it, candy corn is one of the most recognized fall candies out there. And you can’t deny how fun these vibrant cupcakes look! Luckily, they don’t taste like candy corn. Instead, it’s a simple vanilla cake with vanilla frosting, which means everyone will love them.
16. S’mores Pumpkin Cupcakes
Take your s’mores game up a notch with these insanely indulgent, lightly spiced pumpkin cupcakes. It all starts with a graham cracker crust because what else would you use, right? Then, of course, there’s also velvety chocolate ganache and toasted marshmallow on top.
17. Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Caramel apples are quintessential Fall-time treats. You’ll see them all over the place, and they’re the perfect balance of sweet and crisp. For this recipe, you’ll make a cupcake that’s brimming with shredded apples, keeping it wonderfully moist. Rather than adding a thick layer of frosting, all you need is to dunk the top of the cooled cupcake into a big bowl of creamy caramel.
18. Butterbeer Cupcakes
Have you made it down to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter yet? I went years ago, and it was terrific! One of the highlights was definitely the butterbeer. It’s insanely sweet and caramelly, and you can’t stop at just one glass. These cupcakes are similar, and they’re sticky to boot. The secret ingredient is instant butterscotch pudding mix, which keeps things ridiculously tender.
19. Best Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes
Some pumpkin spice latte cupcakes are dense with too-heavy frosting on top. As a result, the flavors don’t balance well, and I find the coffee and the pumpkin are left fighting for attention. But in this recipe, they play very well together. In fact, that whipped coffee topping is to die for. I think it has a lot to do with the added white chocolate.
20. Chai Latte Cupcakes
Since fall is when we enjoy warm spices, we can’t have a list of fall cupcakes without a yummy chai latte recipe! Since it’s a latte, you need a big hit of creamy goodness, which you’ll get in the form of a spiced whole milk frosting.
21. Maple Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting
Like cinnamon, maple syrup is a welcome addition to any fall cupcake recipe. It’s naturally sweet and has a delightfully distinct taste. You have to use real, authentic maple syrup to get the best flavor possible, not the cheap stuff we put on our pancakes!
22. Sweet Potato Pie Cupcakes
Like pumpkin, sweet potato makes a fantastic cupcake ingredient. It’s colorful, loaded with goodness, and locks in moisture. Since this is a faux-pie cupcake, it’s pretty dense, but I think it’s a nice change from regular sweet potato pie.
23. Earl Grey Lemon Cupcakes
Earl Grey is noticeable floral with hints of citrus, so adding a lemon frosting to the top of these cupcakes is a clever way to enhance those flavors. I prefer these with tea-infused milk rather than tea leaves in the sponge, but that’s just my preference. You’ll get a pleasant and delicate taste either way.
24. Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream
What could be better after a long day in the cold than a tender hot chocolate cupcake with a big dollop of sweet marshmallow frosting on top? You’ll use instant hot cocoa in the cupcake to get that signature taste, and if you want to make it less sweet, try adding simple whipped cream instead of frosting.
25. Dulce De Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes
I saved the best for last. Trust me; this will quickly become your new go-to fall cupcake recipe. Not only is the cake full of pumpkin and yummy spices, but there’s also pumpkin right in the caramel frosting! And that caramel core is just too dreamy to resist. Click on a star to rate it!
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